Assessment

This week we covered assessment. Something I found interesting was what the curriculum teaches us about assigning grade levels. For instance, how many of you knew that by meeting the curriculum expectations, a student would receive a level 3? Prior to teachers college, I always thought if you met all of the expectations, you would receive a level 4. However, what we have learned is that you can only assign a level 4 if the student goes above and beyond the expectations.

Ministry of Education. (2005). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Mathematics. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf

Another interesting point was the research that was discussed surrounding grades and comments. How many of you can admit that you are concerned about the grade when you submit a piece of work? I know this is something I personally care a lot about. The first thing I look for is the grade I received, followed by comments on how I can get a better grade on the next assignment. However, research has proven that if a teacher reveals a grade to a student, they have a zero percent likelihood of improving on their next assignment or test. In contrast, when teachers left comments on the student’s work, with no grade anywhere to be found, students were at a 30 percent more likelihood of improving the next time. This increase in likelihood of achieving higher results is a significant amount. What does this show us then? How should we mark students work? Well, what the research has shown is we should be recording marks for our eyes only, and only letting students have access to the comment portion of the marking component. To compare, the research has shown that if the teacher records a mark alongside the comment, the student returns to a zero percent likelihood of achieving higher results next time. This is because students place more emphasis and care on the grade, as opposed to the feedback that they are being given.

Kevin Hodgson. (October 11, 2015). Hit with the growth mindset. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dogtrax/22075424832

Knowing this now, what are some strategies we can use when leaving feedback for students? Well, students respond well to compliments, though we cannot leave it at just a compliment, as this will encourage a fixed mindset, which is to be avoided. Instead, provide your student with a compliment about a strength you see in their work, a “wonder” component where you question something about the work, and a challenge you saw. This way, the student leaves the comment with a growth mindset, and they can leave with useful advice on how they can improve for next time.

We took part in an activity in today’s class that demonstrated our ability to leave descriptive feedback on student work. We were encouraged to find at least two ways that a student might solve the problem. After solving the two EQAO questions each, we had to work together in our table groups to look at how a student solved these questions. Whether the student got the question right or wrong, we had to dissect their work to see what their strengths and challenges were, as well as an “I wonder” component.

The image above shows how I answered the two questions that were assigned, whereas the bottom image shows how Ross and I dissected the student’s answer and provided feedback for their work.

Overall, the main points to take away are these:

1.       Always leave a strength, “wonder” and challenge when leaving descriptive feedback;

2.       Make sure your feedback demonstrates a growth mindset;

3.       Leave comments on student’s work as opposed to grades/comments and grades as this will result in a higher rate of improvement;

4.       Level 4 is for the students that go above and beyond the expectations.

Blended Teaching

Blended learning is a way of incorporating digital and web tools into your teaching instruction and student activities to enhance student learning, which also allows for students to work at their own pace.

The document you will see below entitled “The Basics of Blended Instruction” discusses some tips for blended instruction. Out of the five tips that Tucker shares, I found that the one I most related to (at least from my experience in placement) is tip #3 “technology shouldn’t be just a frill.” Technology can replace the traditional lecture style teaching, and/or also allows for further and more engaging ways of teaching content to your students.

For more information on Blended Learning, and to see which tip you think best relates to your teaching style and your classroom situation, please visit:

The Basics of Blended Instruction

Blended Learning Models

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF8ODHN6Os8&feature=youtu.be

During station 3 for our blending teaching learning session, we watched a video which broke blended learning into 4 models. Below are the names of each model and a brief description from the video.

Model	Description
Rotation Model	Includes 4 submodules, which are station, lab, flipped and individual.
Flex Model	Online learning is the backbone of student learning that allows students to move at an individual pace.
A La Carte Model	Taking one or more courses entirely online.
Enriched Virtual Model	Students divide their time in a school setting and online. Most began online but ended up turning into blended learning.

SAMR Model

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/introduction-to-the-samr-model

During station 4, we moved on to the SAMR model. We learned that the substitution and augmentation levels are for enhancement of learning, whereas the modification and redefinition stages are for transformation of learning. Below is the chart that I filled out during this station, with information and examples from the video watched.

Level and brief description	Give an example of each level
Substitution – tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change.	Creative writing using the word processing program.
Augmentation – tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement.	Creative writing using spellcheck and formatting.
Modification – tech allows for significant task redesign.	Creative writing using google docs to get real time feedback.
Redefinition – tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable.	Transform stories into a media video.

Padagogy Wheel

http://designingoutcomes.com/assets/PadWheelV4/PadWheel_Poster_V4.pdf

When I broke down the criteria for the padagogy wheel into the achievement chart categories, this is something I came up with for how you can assess the students through the various stages:

Knowledge/Understanding: remembering criteria and understanding criteria.

Thinking: Analyzing criteria and evaluating criteria.

Communication: Applying criteria.

Application: Creating criteria.

Allan Carrington. (March 13, 2013). "The Pedagogy Wheel". Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/allanadl/8553210313/in/photolist-e2Prrk-51YEnw/

Tellagamis

At the end of the blended teaching activity, we had an assessment question. “You and your group will use an iPad to create two 30 second animated Tellagamis. One will summarize Blended Learning, and the other will briefly explain the SAMR model,” (Blended Learning Worksheet).

This is a great example on how you can incorporate technology into your student’s learning. Let your students work through a series of task to better understand a topic, with the help of the Internet and technology. Then, you can have your students explain their findings by using an app like Tellagami to share their findings. This is one way to keep your students engaged after working through a series of stations at their seats, and a great way to wrap up after working on a worksheet. You could have your students hook up the iPads to an HDMI cord and play their Tellagamis in front of their classmates as a reflection and/or sharing consolidation.