Here is a link to my Prezi of how different education will be in the future and what the learning environment and teachers are going to be like in the 21st century.
CBS This Morning. (Jun5, 2015). AltSchool Provides Personalization and Technology. [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyV7zQbnX7E
Kapp, K.M. (Feb. 3, 2016). 5 Learning Tech Trends to Watch in the Next 5 Years. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/Publications/Blogs/Learning-Technologies-Blog/2016/02/5-Learning-Tech-Trends-to-Watch-in-the-Next-5-Years
Kunnen, E. (Aug. 3, 2015). Emerging Technologies to Enhance Teaching and Enable Active Learning. Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/8/emerging-technologies-to-enhance-teaching-and-enable-active-learning.
Palmer, T. (June 20, 2015). 15 Characteristics of a 21st Century Teacher. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/15-characteristics-21st-century-teacher
Poh, M. (n.d.). 8 Technologies that will Shape Future Classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/future-classroom-technologies/
Can you even imagine a morning without your cell phone? Me neither, otherwise I would not have an alarm to wake me up. Technology, especially mobile devices, became a big part of our lives: ordering food, access the internet, chat to family around the world, get driving directions, learn a new language...all without even leaving your couch.
Mobile Learning is a very popular term used in education in the 21st century. It is a form of education or training conducted by portable personal devices such as tablets, smartphones etc. It is a fact that children are being exposed to mobile devices at a much younger age these days; thus it is inevitable that education is changing and adapting to everyday life.
Why should a teacher be prepared to allow or require students to use mobile devices to achieve learning objectives?
I was one of those teachers in denial once...why should I give my students more screen time in class if they will probably go sit at home in front of a screen anyway? What about nature? Kicking a ball outside? Isn't technology going to distract them from work?
Then I got over it and thought about the positive effects technology and mobile devices in the classroom can have:
Reach learning differences: every student learn in a different way and it is our job as teachers to help all students and differentiate. Technology can help students learn through most senses (audio, visual) and movement.
Gamification: kids love games! So why not incorporate it into your classroom? Having students play while learning at the same time will enhance motivation for learning.
Collaboration & Engagement: using mobile devices will make it easy for students to work together on a project. Kids love technology overall so they will definitely be more engaged when doing an activity using a mobile device. It is a big part of student's interests these days so use it to your advantage.
Inclusion: even if students do not have any technology at their homes, learning about it and how to use it is crucial in today's work environment. Giving everyone a chance to learn it at school will help them move forward and grow with technology.
Concerns?
The biggest [concern about mobile learning] is that they
distract from schoolwork. Then again,
distractions are as old as the ages — we’ve
just progressed from daydreaming and
passing notes. (Robledo:1)
Distractions. One thing a teacher can never escape from; so why make it a part of the classroom? Remember the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer? If technology and games are distracting students, it is one of their interests; and what better way to motivate engagement than to incorporate their interests into your lesson!
But don't take my word for it, let's look at some research:
Vocabulary growth: PBS Kids (together with US Department of Education) reported that kids (ages 3-7) who played Martha Speaks mobile app improved their vocabulary up to 31%.
Grade improvement & motivation: Abilene Christian University reported math students who used Statistics 1 (an iOS app) improved their grades. They were also much more motivated to finish lessons on mobile devices than the usual textbooks and workbooks.
Improved learning experiences: 35% of 8th graders said they were more interested in the lessons/ activities using a tablet. The students also exceeded the teacher's academic expectations when using mobile devices.
More student engagement: 54% of students in a 5th and 8th grade study self-reported that they were more involved in the lessons using technology. 55% said they wish more teachers used educational games/ simulations to teach.
As I researched this approach especially in a teacher's point of view I realized the biggest reason for technology integration in classroom resulting in chaos or failure is the lack of knowledge and training for teachers.
Some guidelines that is noteworthy for teachers
Another challenge would be to bridge the digital gap. Having taught in a public school in South Africa, in a school with little technology integration, I realized that a lot of schools and teachers take the socio-economic status of South Africans for granted. I did not realize the students' interest for technology and mobile devices until I actually sat down and had a chat with them in small groups. I learned that every single student (in a class of 35) had some kind of mobile device at their house which they use every day. It is part of their life so why not make it part of their education.
So, get to know your students and get them involved.
First, ask yourself what you want to achieve by incorporating mobile devices in your curriculum.
Survey your students on what devices they have at home and how they use it.
Encourage students to make suggestions about what apps work for them.
Some examples of Mobile activities for my future 2nd grade classroom
Enhanced field trips: This is something that has always bothered me. How can I make a field trip more interesting for learning purposes? With mobile devices kids can take photos of what they see and bring it to the classroom for discussion, projects etc.
Feedback & self-reflection: I would definitely want to use online apps for student feedback and self-reflection. For example if I had a group project, the groups can post their projects online and students can comment on other's work and discuss it.
Global student connections: Students can connect with other students around the world through Skype or other apps. I was thinking a fun geography game would be to Skype with other students and asking only yes or no questions. Based on their answers, students need to guess where in the world their co-student is. You can also use this idea for feedback or collaboration on projects.
References Chaffe, S. (March 5, 2016). Getting Mobile Learning Right: 6 Best Practices. Retrieved on June 26, 2017 from https://elearningindustry.com/getting-mobile-learning-right-6-best-practices Crocket, L.W. (April 3, 2015). The Teacher's Guide to Choosing the Best Digital Content. Retrieved on June 26, 2017 from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/the-teachers-guide-to-the-best-digital-content Lynch, M. (Jan. 4, 2015). Do Tablets in the Classroom Really Help Children Learn? Retrieved on June 26, 2017 from http://gizmodo.com/do-tablets-in-the-classroom-really-help-children-learn-1694963939 Robledo, S.J. (n.d.). Mobile Devices for Learning: What You Need to Know. Edutopia. Retrieved on June 26, 2017 from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/guides/edutopia-mobile-learning-guide.pdf Sir Ken Robinson. (Oct. 14, 2010). RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms. [Video] Retrieved on June 25, 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=share
I have been teaching in Korea for 4 years and I have never really been evaluated. I have heard of teacher evaluations, but never really had the experience or reason to check it out before. The closest I got, was at my previous school. This procedure went as follows:
The principal & head teacher observed one lesson (The date and time previously scheduled with you).
The teacher fills out a self evaluation form.
Post-observation meeting: The principal, head teacher and the teacher discuss your self evaluation form and most importantly talk about the pros and cons of the lesson and changes you can make for better teaching.
Although I enjoyed reflecting on my own teaching, the lesson was not as natural as it would have been. The students (3 years old) were also very shy and their focus were drawn away from the lesson and towards the two new teachers sitting at the back of the class.
So, how do we effectively evaluate teachers?
According to Danielson and McGreal (2000), during the process of developing a good teacher evaluation
system two fundamental questions should be answered:
(a) What do we believe good teaching looks like?, and
(b) What are the processes and procedures that will best fit what the school district
wants the educational system to accomplish?
There are many systems being used to evaluate teachers. I will look at two of them: the IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System) and the Danielson's framework.
IQMS (Integrated Quality Management System)
I chose to look at this one, because it is used in South Africa (where I am from). It consists of 3 programmes:
Developmental Appraisal (DA): to appraise
individual educators in a transparent manner with a view to determining areas
of strength and weakness, and to draw up programmes for individual development.
Performance Measurement (PM): to evaluate individual
teachers for salary progression, grade progression, affirmation of appointments
and rewards and incentives.
Whole School Evaluation (WSE): is to evaluate individual
teachers for salary progression, grade progression, affirmation of appointments
and rewards and incentives.
The purpose of this system (according the the Department of Basic Education in South Africa) is
to determine competence;
to assess strengths and areas
for development;
to identify specific needs of
educators, colleges and the FET Directorate for support and development;
to provide support for
continued growth;
to promote accountability;
to monitor an institution’s
overall effectiveness; and
to evaluate an educator’s
performance.
There are certain steps in order to implement this system (see the picture above). The role of the teacher in this system is as follows:
Must
undertake self-evaluation of his/her performance.
Identifies
his/her personal support group – Development Support Group (DSG).
Develops
a Personal Growth Plan (PGP) and finalizes it together with the DSG.
Must
co-operate with the DSG.
Attends
INSET and other programmes in terms of areas identified for development.
Engages
in feedback and discussion.
At first glance it looks like a good system that supports the teachers in professional development and teacher effectiveness; however there is still a big problem in South Africa's education system in teacher effectiveness. A study done by the Center for Development and Enterprise (2000) about teacher evaluation in South Africa (regarding public schools) states that the biggest problems with this system is that the concept of PGP's are great, but that the teachers do not have the time to "complete them with adequate thought and reflection" and they do not have the "skills needed to express their development needs". Another finding was that the evaluators for classroom observations was not "trained to identify evidence in support of their rating decisions,
with the emphasis on corrective action, development and improvement" and it became a negative, judgmental process. Thus the lack of capacity
in public schools had reduced the IQMS to largely a compliance exercise with limited or no
professional development.
Danielson's Framework
When I first read this evaluation system framework, I liked the outline and it matched my idea of how a teacher should be evaluated and on what grounds. It has 4 domains:
Planning and Preparation
Classroom Environment
Instruction
Professional responsibilities
Although schools can choose how it is implemented, its main purpose and value is being "the foundation for professional
conversations among practitioners as they seek to enhance their skill in
the complex task of teaching". On their website they point out a very important factor for schools who want to use this model: training. This is the key component of every evaluation system: knowing how to implement it the best way possible: for teaching effectiveness and advancement.
I would have liked this framework when I was evaluated by my previous school with a pre-observation meeting (explaining the criteria and talking about my lesson plan for the observation). I believe if this is communicated beforehand, the post-observation meeting would have been more specific and more areas of my teaching (that needed some more attention) would have been observed.
How should I be judged on as a teacher?
As I am getting ready for my clinical practice in South Africa (at my alma mater), I have been thinking what I would want my mentor to judge me on. Firstly, I would want to know what my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher are, so that I can build on my strengths (regarding my teacher personality) and learn to control and improve my weaknesses. I also would like my mentor to be very honest and give me tools and insight to all componenets of teaching.
Researching the 2 evaluating systems above gave me some guidance as to what the criteria would be; and the Danielson's framework comes very close! It reflects a lot of the aspects of Module 4 which connects to what I believe makes a great teacher: classroom culture, high expectations, norms and procedures, managing challenging behaviour and behaviour in general etc. I would appreciate such specific feedback on all the componenets that makes up teaching. Self reflection on my teaching is also something I have been doing for the past 1.5 years of being a preschool teacher. I learned a lot from my students (asking them what type of lessons they like...yes even 3-year olds know what they like and dislike!) and I will definitely continue doing that; however as the critique on the IQMS states, I need more guidance and support from others and I am looking forward to see what it takes to be a great teacher!
References
Danielson, C. & McGreal, T.L. (2000). Teacher evaluation: To enhance professional practice.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Department Basic Education. (n.d.). Your Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) Q&A. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=JJr4X%2BgtLX0%3D&tabid=447
The Danielson Group. (n.d.). The Framework. Retrieved from https://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/
When introducing a new topic, idea or skill, I often ask myself:
How am I going to get my students there?
How am I going to prepare and guide my students to master this topic, idea or skill?
In order to do this, usually the first step I take in my class is testing my students' prior knowledge through pre-assessment strategies. In Module 5 in this programme, I developed a Poetry Reading unit for a Grade 2 ELA standard (RL.2.4). Students should be able to describe and analyse poetry through identifying elements like rhyme, rhythm, alliteration etc.
How will I introduce a poetry unit to my class?
I enjoy surveys, because it is a good way to assess a student's interest in a topic. For this unit, I will first do an opinion survey on poetry (created through the Kahoot app). This will be done in class (on iPads or computers). This app is very fun and interactive and shows the amount of kids answering a certain question. The students will be able to see how many students had the same answers and will create a safe and confident atmosphere to let students know that some students in class might feel the same way and by sticking together, we can get through this unit easily. Through this I can also calculate a general opinion in the class. Poetry can be quite challenging or stereotyped as boring among kids, so this survey will let me know if most students like poetry or think it is difficult.
After the survey and showing the results, we will have a discussion on the general opinion towards poetry and students can discuss the reasons for this opinion. I created this survey also to let students think about the similarities between poetry and the songs they hear on the radio or on TV. This will show them that there are many forms of poetry and that although they might not read poetry, they listen to it every day. This will create a possible interest in this unit to show that it will be fun and interacting.
Pre-assessment quiz
I decided to include a quiz to assess the following prior knowledge of the students:
Rhyme, alliteration, repetition and rhythm.
Explain the meaning of a poem.
Use context clues to know the meaning of vocabulary words.
Describe and explain the tone of a poem.
Give and explain their personal response of a poem.
Showing higher thinking to understand a poem.
This will be done after the survey. They will all watch a video display of the poem "The Crocodile's Toothache" by Shel Silverstein. Then while having a copy of the poem in front of them, they will answer the quiz questions.
Differentiation strategies
Based on the results of the quiz and survey, I will create differentiation strategies to help all students reach the objectives for the unit. This is very important, because all students have different learning styles, ways of thinking and levels of understanding. In order to guide every single student, I would have to adapt my lessons and assessments accordingly.
Here is a link to my mind map explaining innovative differentiation strategies for 3 groups of students with different levels.
Monitoring progress
It is important to check for understanding throughout lessons and the unit as a whole. The pre-assessment was the starting point of that, but throughout the unit, I should assess student progress. I enjoy using exit tickets and self reflection. They are great ways to monitor understanding. The students will also continually work on a poetry portfolio which will help me see their progress towards their final project of the unit.
I remember sitting in my school's gym, my student number taped on it (yes, I am only a number now) and ready to write my National Senior Certificate Grade 12 exam: the final step towards university acceptance. Was it stressful? Yes. Did it ruin my life? No, but I had excellent teachers who did not teach to the test; they helped me understand the work and not just memorize facts like a parrot.
There are a lot of criticism towards High-Stakes Testing (HST) (and I am usually the one criticizing it). Luckily I did not have a lot of experience in HST. It is quite a widely used assessment in America and South Korea and talking to a lot of friends from these places, I can see how it can negatively effect students, teachers and schools. So, in this blog I will look more closely to HST and how it was/ are used in the 2 countries I had the pleasure of staying in: South Africa (my home) and South Korea (my current home-away-from-home).
What is High Stakes Testing (HST)?
A high-stakes test is any test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or districts, most commonly for the purpose of accountability—i.e., the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers. In general, “high stakes” means that test scores are used to determine punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade promotion or graduation for students), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for administrators and teachers). (High-stakes Test 2014).
HST in South Korea
I have been working as a teacher (ESL at a hagwon and Preschool at an International Kindergarten) for almost 4 years in Geoje, South Korea, and my first thought of the education system in Korea was empathy. I worked at a hagwon (private English academy) and had kids come for extra English lessons from 2:30-7:30pm. When I asked them what they will do after class, everyone's answers were related to more academies (most of them don't return home until 11pm and then they still have to do homework). So, it is not surprising that the suicide rate among teenagers (ages 10-19) are growing each year. To get a better understanding of the normal (education day) for Korean kids, watch the following video:
Academic expectations from teachers, schools and parents are extremely high in South Korea. In the OECD (2014:22) report parents' expectations are divided into 2 aspects: 1) Parents expect the child to work as managers or professionals at age 30 and 2) Parents expects child to complete a university degree. The latter is very high compared to other countries while the first is quite leveled with other countries.
From a young age, students are working towards getting into the 3 top, prestigious universities in South Korea, a.k.a SKY: Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei. Acceptance to one of the SKY universities will determine social status for most of their lives and will secure a highly-paid job in one of the chaebols (family-owned business conglomerates) (Calonge, David S, 2015). To get into these universities, you have to get a certain score on the 8 hour CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test). Due to this idea and pressure on students to achieve this status from all 3 entities (teachers, schools and parents) and also the competitiveness between students, it is not surprising that Korean education is a stressful one.
Students begin preparing for the CSAT in elementary school; they take several extra classes after school to learn subjects like Hanja (chinese characters), math, English etc. Lee Myung-bak’s administration (the former president of South Korea) implemented a policy in which 70% of the questions on this test are from lectures on EBS, an educational channel. As a result, high-school curriculum has been replaced with EBS lectures and EBS textbooks. The teachers have minimized their instruction of the regular curriculum, and are instead “teaching to the test” (The Korea Herald 2014).
HST in South Africa
To understand the reasons and implications of HST on students and teachers in South Africa, you need to know a bit more about the educational context and history thereof. For a previous Module for the Teach-Now Program, I made a video showing just this. Have a look:
According to a study made by Sarah Howie (2012), South Africa is quite new to HST. It can be traced back to the arrival of a new leader in 1994, Nelson Mandela, and with this new focus against apartheid, came a new educational system; one with equal rights to education. Systemic assessments (a.k.a National Assessments) were developed for Grades 3, 6 and 9 in language, mathematics and science. These tests aimed to measure the effectiveness of the education system and "provides and implements a national framework for the evaluation of the education system as well as to develop benchmarks from which performance can be interpreted".
I made contact with my teacher mentor in South Africa, through email (as I will go to South Africa in 1 month!) and asked her about HST at her school. They previously did the ANA (Annual National Assessment) which was implemented since 2011 and focused on "providing system-wide information on learner performance for both formative and summative purposes" (Graven & Venkat 2014). They stopped these tests due to a lack of reflection on students' real performance. Teachers were too focused on teaching to the test that it took the importance of student learning away. Teachers were also caught giving students the answers just so they can have high scores (especially in poorer areas).
According to a study by Graven & Venkat (2014), the biggest concern regarding the poor performance of standardized tests or HST's (like the ANA's and even the National Senior Certificate Exam at the end of Grade 12) are the language in which they are assessed. South Africa has 11 official languages and since the end of Apartheid in 1994, the new education law states that everyone has the right to education in their home language. Although an excellent idea, it was a huge project that would take a lot of years and effort to implement. Internationally, a lot of organizations helped with projects like to provide literature in indigenous languages (isiXhosa, isiZulu etc.). Nevertheless, projects like these have not changed the education problem in South Africa yet. Standardized tests are given in English or Afrikaans (in very few cases, isiXhosa). For most students, this would be their second or third language. Upon reflection, teachers stressed this concern in that reading was a big part of the tests (especially in math for problem solving) and the language used in the tests were too difficult and new to the students.
Also regarding the ANA's the time it took for younger students to take the test affected their scores. One teacher explained that the 3rd graders got so agitated and could not sit still for that long period of time. The anxiety connected to taking these tests were also a contributing factor to poor performance. Here are a few comments from teachers:
Anxiety was a big factor. Children were nervous. Learners’ behavior was different as when writing internal tests/exams. I did not like the fact that we did not facilitate our own classes. Children were confused.
Especially foundation phase learners. Foundation phase learners need their own educators,. I neglected my own assessment for third term…Learners had ‘exam fear’! Poor learners!
We were placed in classes we did not teach. (For example I went to Grade 4). A problem with this is some learners become nervous with a new teacher in their class. (Gravin & Venkat 2014).
Currently at my mentor's school, they only use the systemic tests for Grades 3, 6 and 9. These tests are written during school time and assessors (outside the school) are appointed by the WCED (Western Cape Education Department). At their school the results are used to determine problem areas and to see where dysfunctions might be. The school's approach to these tests are much more student centered and focused on learning than just getting a good score. However, not all schools have this approach. At some schools, teachers are still only focused on teaching only to the test and seems to move away from a student centered approach.
Another HST students take is the National Senior Certificate Exam in Grade 12 (that big test at the end of school that gives you university clearance or not). Unfortunately I was in a year group reporters called the proefkonyne (guinea pigs). Our curriculum was renewed and molded so many times. I especially remember grade 9 where we wrote standardized tests but did not even cover most of that work in class. I can't even tell you what I did that year...it's all a blur. In 2010 it was renewed again...
In 2008, 554 664 Grade 12 students wrote the first National Senior Certificate examination based on the new curriculum that had been introduced in Grade 10 in 2006 and therefore the class of 2010 is the third cohort that have written this examination with the results due in January 2011 with an increase of 10.4% enrolled for examinations (642 154 pupils) compared to 2009 (DoE, 2010). When the pass rate of 62% was announced for the 2008 examinations there was widespread criticism (Reyneke, Meyer and Nel, 2010, p.277). In 2009, the pass rate was 60.7%, the lowest in 10 years but based on a different and new curriculum and the examinations that were intended to uphold standards and require increased cognitive demands. (Howie 2012).
The reasons given for the poor performance was the following:
lack of resources, lack of student discipline, lack of student commitment, lack of educator discipline, commitment and morale, ineffective policies at school level: weak organisational structures and undeveloped managerial skills, teacher union disturbances and problems in implementing collective agreements, problems in implementing government policies, poor organisational structures and inadequate parental involvement. (Howie 2012).
HST: good or bad?
Personally, I am not a big fan of high-stakes testing due to it having such a negative effect on students and schools, especially in South Africa. However, I can see that it can be beneficial in the following sense:
- It can help teachers create a specific learning plan for each student.
- Test results are almost always publicly available.
- High stakes testing improves a child’s test-taking abilities.
- It emphasizes specific subjects that are universally needed.
Looking at the two countries' experience with HST can have both positive and negative effects as a whole. Although Korean students scored so high on the PISA tests, the stress and pressure put on them from a young age is not beneficial to give them a "happy" life. In South Africa again, you can see that when implemented with a good approach, it can be successful in some way, but again if you look at the negative impact from the ANA's and the poor pass rate, South Africa did not have a good experience of HST yet. In regards to my home country, South Africa, I do not think the education system is at a (mature enough) level to implement HST effectively, yet; and South Korea, they proved they can implement HST effectively in looking at the good results; however, the emotional strain and pressure put on students is making life in general hard for them and impacting their health negatively.
In regards to the effect tests can have on students, for me, it really depends on how HST is implemented. If a school/district can take a student centered approach and its main focus is still to provide the student with the best learning possible, while assessing with HST, I say: go ahead. If it is going to be about the scores and how high schools can get them (no matter the method used to do this) and taking the learning experience away from the student...just walk away.
Graven, Mellony & Venkat, Hamsa. (2014). Primary
Teachers' Experiences Relating to the Administration Processes of High-stakes
Testing: The Case of Mathematics Annual National Assessments, African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science
and Technology Education. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2014.965406
Reading different research about differentiated instruction, it becomes clear that the learning experience should be social and engaging; although the learning responsibility of what happens in the classroom is guided by the teacher, the learner should is also actively part of this process by means of valuing their strengths.
With this in mind, I created a mind map of my choice of activities and strategies in order to enlighten students in a challenging and productive way; especially with the use of 21st century technology will benefit students with their basic search and ICT skills as well as listening skills. According to Tomlinson (2001) most classrooms are multi-cultured these days and thus most learners have different learning styles. There are three aspects teachers should take into account when planning differentiated lessons:
Student readiness
Student interests
Student learning profiles
Readiness
Together with teaching rules and routines, assessing the students’ skills is one of the first things I do in order to see where their levels are. This is very important, because as McCarthy (2014) states “[i]nstruction should begin where the student's skill level currently exists” otherwise those who are at a lower level will not catch up and those at a higher level might be bored or unmotivated. The key is to have different strategies in order to bridge the gaps and keep the students engaged. In order to learn about my students’ levels of readiness, I will have two types of assessments:
Pre-assessments
I always use this at the beginning of the year to test their overall knowledge of their previous grade regarding math, language, writing and reading skills. This will give me an overall idea of their level of readiness for my class.
I also use pre-assessments sometimes before I start a new unit to have an idea of how much knowledge they already have of a certain topic.
Formative assessments
Exit Tickets: this is something I only heard of recently and really like the idea. I will let students answer some questions at the end of the lesson as a recap or reflection on work done in class. This can also be used to anticipate something that you will use for the next day's lesson (like a pre-assessment), to see how much of a topic the students know.
Tiered assignments: this involves “all children being focussed on the same content or curriculum objective but the process and/or product will vary according to the child’s readiness or ability” (PPDS).
Learning centers are also a great way to observe (and assess) students’ skills. I will talk about this more in the “Interests” part.
Within the context of differentiated instruction, [...] flexible small group instruction yields greater benefits when compared to large group instruction, within the literacy classroom. (Subban & Round, 2015:124)
I agree with this and including group instruction and group work is also a good differentiation strategy in that it helps with pairing lower level students with stronger students (as stated in the mind map).
Interests
If students are interested in what you are teaching, they will be more focused and engaging during lessons. It is very difficult to occupy all students’ interests, but not impossible. According to Tomlinson (2001) there are two ways of approaching student interests:
Identifying the students already acquired interests.
Encouraging new interests.
I think getting to know your students in general will already help you a lot to plan your lessons and know what will work and what won’t. During circle time in the morning or in between classes (as a kind of brain break) I would gather the students and just talk a bit about any topic and ask them questions. A positive student-teacher-relationship will also encourage active engagement in the classroom. As stated before, learning centers are a great way of identifying your students’ interests through observing them in action. This will help you gain more knowledge about what type of lessons they will enjoy (visual, artistic, logic and kinesthetic). However, you can add to learning centers more if you already know what the students like. At the beginning of the year, I would make a student interest survey for the students with some questions like:
Before my poetry unit, I will ask questions like:
What is your favourite poem?
What do you like to read about?
In my poetry unit, I will also have a poetry book where the students will gather research about poetry and rough drafts in order to complete their big project by writing, illustrating and presenting their own poem. They will do this through:
Learning center activities
Graphic Organizers
Sense-O-Grams
Brainstorming webs
Venn Diagrams
Writing poetry
Rough Drafts
Originals
Illustrating poetry to show the meaning
Learning Profiles
As stated before, observing students in the learning centers will give you a better idea of their interests and also their preferred learning styles. I can usually divide them into 2 categories:
Visual and artistic
Logical and Kinesthetic
Something that would apply to both these categories are the use of technology. If possible, students can use IPADS to illustrate a poem or different crafting materials (especially for the visual and artistic students). For the logical and kinesthetic students, they would enjoy moving around more, so when doing rhyming activities, students can use the whiteboard or computer centers to practice their rhyming. The Funny Kids Poems application is a great tool to use in this case.
Conclusion
Focusing your differentiated lesson on these three principles are important to attend to the students’ needs. In my opinion, students should have the opportunity to express themselves in an environment that is open and responsive to their needs. In order to do this, teachers have to change and adapt their lessons in order for the students to learn something. If not, some students won’t benefit from the lessons and would just be left in their confusion.
Subban, P.K. (2006). Differentiated instruction: A research basis. In International Education Journal 7(7) Shannon Research Press, 935-947.
Subban, P. K., & Round, P. N. (2015). Differentiated Instruction at Work. Reinforcing the art of classroom observation through the creation of a checklist for beginning and pre-service teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(5). Retrieved December 19, 2016, fromhttp://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n5.7
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. (2001). How To Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms 2ND EDITION. Alexandria, Virginia USA.
What are formative assessments and why is it considered so important?
Formative assessments are ongoing assessments that helps students achieve the objectives. In a video on formative and summative assessments, Rick Wormeli (2011) argues that teachers should pay more attention to formative assessments, because it helps teachers to give better feedback to their students. A big part of these types of assessments is descriptive feedback. Feedback has a great impact on students' performance and helping them bridge the gap between the work and their understanding of it.
In this blog, I will give examples of some formative assessments using one learning objective of a Common Core ELA standard I chose:
Grade Level: Elementary Grade 2
Subject: English Literature
Unit: Poetry
Standard: ELA RL.2.4: Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats,
alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story,
poem, or song.
Selected Learning Objective
Click here to see my infographic on all the learning objectives I created for this standard.
3 Formative Assessments
1. Exit tickets
On an education blog, I saw the example of a formative assessment I enjoy using, called Exit Tickets. This is a great formative assessment technique to see if students have a superficial understanding of the information or has some depth of understanding. They are typically short questions and focused on one particular skill. The teacher will let students answer it at the end of the lesson as a recap or reflection on work. This can also be used to anticipate something that you will use for the next day's lesson, to see how much of a topic the students know.
My objective (and standard) focuses on 3 main skills: identifying 1) rhythm 2) rhyme and 3) alliteration. I would have a few classes focusing on each individually. The questions I can ask are as follows:
For Alliteration
I will display the following instructions on an interactive whiteboard:
Write down at least 3 words that show alliteration. Ex. Sally sings songs
Why does it show alliteration? The "s" sound at the beginning of the words repeats.
For Rhythm
If possible, the students can do this at a computer in order to listen to a poem. Otherwise a printout could be given.
How many beats are there in:
Line 1__________
Line 2__________
Line 3__________
Line 4__________
For Rhyme
If possible, the students can do this at a computer in order to listen to a poem. Otherwise a printout could be given.
What are the rhyming words?
_________ and _________
_________ and _________
_________ and _________
Circle the ending sounds that creates the rhyme.
Self-reflection
I can also ask students to reflect on lessons:
Write 1 thing you have learned today.
I didn't understand...
Write one question you have about today's lesson.
The students will receive cards that they will use to write their answers. At the end of class, they will put it in a box. I can then group kids together in such a way that one student who grasps the meaning of alliteration/ rhythm or rhyme are in each group and then give them a quick Think-Pair-Share activity or an individual "Do Now" activity at the beginning of the next lesson. This will give me an idea of how well they grasp a concept and if I need to spend more time on something in this lesson.
You can also give differentiated instruction with tiered exit tickets to challenge students who has high-achieving levels (Teaching Channel). Due to poetry being quite a new type of text for 2nd Graders, I would start doing this after I explained certain poetic elements. It would look something like this:
First exit ticket:
What poetic elements does the following represent:
1. Sally sings songs _________ 2. I like to run Because it's fun Second exit ticket (for high-achieving students)
Write examples of the following:
1. Alliteration _______________________
2. Rhyme __________________________
__________________________
2. Popsicle Sticks
This is a technique I have always used in my class. You will always have those kids in your class who wants to (and are able to) answer all the questions and those who sits back, maybe knows the answer but are too shy too answer or just does not care. To encourage student participation, use Popsicle sticks with students' names on them and draw one when you want a student to answer or reflect on something. This way, every student will definitely answer a question and you can see who struggles and who grasps a new concept.
This is part of a Checking for Understanding (CFU) strategy that allows teachers to make instructional decisions during a class and monitoring student progress in real time (Smartatmath 2011). It is also important to think about how you will respond to right answers, incomplete answers and wrong answers. You don't want a student to lose confidence in answering questions. Here are examples of how I would handle 2 different answering situations:
Repeating the correct answer given by a student together with the whole class step by step in order to ensure that everyone knows why the answer is correct:
Teacher: Rebecca, how many beats/syllables are in line one of the poem?
Rebecca: 3
Teacher: That's right, there are 3 syllables in line 1. Class, let's all say and count with our fingers the amount of syllables in line 1. "Spring (1) is (2) here (3)".
According to Lemov (2010) providing a cue helps guide a student to the correct answer:
Teacher: Of what poetic element do you think when you here Sally sings songs, James?
James: Uhm...rhyme?
Teacher: James, let's look at the line again. Look at the beginning letters of each word. They all start with...? (cue)
James: An "S"
Teacher: Great! Now what poetic element does it represent? What do we call a sound at the beginning of each word that is being repeated? (cue)
James: Oh, alliteration.
Teacher: That's right!
3. Poetry Book (graphic organizers)
Students will have a poetry book where they will include all their research for their final project: writing a poem, illustrating it and presenting it to a younger class. This will be done through:
Learning center activities
Graphic Organizers
Sense-O-Grams
Brainstorming webs
Venn Diagrams
Writing poetry
Rough Drafts
Originals
Illustrating poetry to show the meaning
Research and planning is a big part of writing poetry and it is important to teach this skill to students in this unit. I will help them and guide them through this process and show them what to include in their books. This will be continuously assessed and it will show me how well students understand certain poetry concepts. This is also a great way for students to self-assess their work and providing them with a visual representation of where they need to improve.
Conclusion
Formative assessments gives students a chance to improve their skills before the big (summative) assessments that influence their grades are implemented. In the video (at the beginning of this blog) Wormeli (2011) states that teachers tends to focus more on summative than formative assessments, but formative assessments should be equally (if not more) important:
Can kids learn without grades?Yeah. Can they learn without formative assessment and the feedback that comes from it? Not at all.
My main goal as a teacher has always been to help students in any way I can. This really made me think more about formative assessment and appreciate it more. I will definitely be spending more time designing this than ever before.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References
Edutopia. (May, 2010). Use Formative Assessment to Differentiate Instruction. Retrieved on December 15, 2016, from https://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-learning-styles-video
Lemov, Doug. (2010). Seeting High Expectations. In Teach Like a Champion. San Francisco: Jossy Bass: 27-56..
NWEA. (n.d.). Classroom Techniques: Formative Assessment Idea number six. In Teach. Learn. Grow. [Education blog] Retrieved on December 15, 2016, from https://www.nwea.org/blog/2012/classroom-techniques-formative-assessment-idea-number-six/
Smartatmath. (Jun, 2011). Checking for Understanding.wmv. [video file] Retrieved on December 15, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd7TO9alAss
Rick Wormeli. (Nov, 2010). Rick Wormeli: Formative and Summative Assessments. [Video file] Retrieved on December, 15, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4
Teaching Channel. (n.d.) Daily Assessments with Tiered Exit Cards. [video file] Retrieved on December 15, 2016, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-daily-assessment
