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I believe that as educators, it is our responsibility to assist students in their ongoing journey of becoming lifelong learners. It is this endeavor that I seek to pursue every avenue out there, to support their lifelong learning. Even as I pursue these avenues, one avenue that I would like to zoom in on is the true value of assessments. Over the years, assessments have been used in varied capacities, but the true nature of assessments needs to be unpacked to understand the true value that it possesses in supporting students on this journey of becoming lifelong learners. Unwrapping Assessments: In doing so I intend to express and reflect my personal beliefs and experiences with regard to key components that I believe are required for an effective approach to assessment in schools. I believe, that the key to an effective approach to assessment in schools begin with a clear understanding of the purposes and impact of effective assessments. Assessments are prevalent at varied stages of the learning process, and at each stage its unique functionality needs to be understood and captured to effectively support students in their learning. It is in this light that I believe that the purpose and use of formative, interim and summative assessment need to be understood, streamlined and effectively carried out for it to be effective. Summative assessments function primarily to assess if students have met the learning targets. As stated by C, Stephen & C, Jan (2008), Summative assessment, sometimes referred to as assessment of learning, typically documents how much learning has occurred at a point in time; its purpose is to measure the level of student, school, or program success. It functions purely as an indicator of learning, and if its only purpose is to indicate what students have acquired, then I believe that a bigger purpose and opportunity is being missed.
Where am I going? Strategy 1-provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning targets. We should use student friendly language and make sure that they understand the learning targets. For example: within the Primary Years Program of the IB, each Unit of Inquiry requires that we have a central idea that governs the unit. These central ideas need to be simplistic for students
Where am I now? Strategy 3: Offer Regular Descriptive Feedback. This enables students answer the question as to where they are now? in the learning. Timely feedback is imperative. In class, when students perform a skill it is important that I go beyond saying that you did a good job! What students need to know is what elements of their practice reflect that good job. It is only when they know what they did well or not so well that helps them identify good practice and areas for improvement. Strategy 4: Teach Students to Self Assess and Set Goals. Teaching students to self assess and set goals help students answer the question, where am I now? In my tumbling unit I engaged students in self assessment and goal setting. To do that I initially had to ensure that learning targets were clear and understood. I provided exemplars and modeled good practice. I then modeled self assessment by making comments on the examples of good and poor skills that I showed to students. This exercise allowed me to demonstrate to students how to identify good and poor practice in performances. I then introduced a new example and allowed students to participate in giving feedback on the performance. Even as students
How Can I Close the Gap? Strategy 5: Design Lesson Plans to focus on One Aspect of Quality at a Time. This is another important aspect while setting learning targets. It is important that the learning targets are broken down into smaller pieces so that students can work on one section of the skill before they move on. For example: when we teach swimming, there are several components in each skill/stroke that are required for students to effectively before they are assessed on swim stroke on a whole. In performing a breast stroke, components such as the whip kick, arm action, breathing and gliding are all components of the stroke that can be taught separately and mastered before we tackle the stroke as a whole. Once each of these individual skills are learned, they can be put together in performing the breast stroke. By breaking down the parts of the skill, it helps students focus on one aspect at a time. This not only helps them focus on specific skills but also improves their chance of success, especially with struggling learners. Strategy 6: Teach Students Focused Revision. In this case also, demonstrate what focused revision looks like. Model it and allow students to work individually in groups in developing the skill of focused revision. In my Tumbling Unit I engaged students in self and peer assessment. Students viewed their performances that I recorded. Using the rubric, they were able to make quality judgments on work produced and suggest strategies to improve. Once they strategized, they went back and practiced the skills using the strategies that they identified to improve performance. The results were amazing and students performances improved. They were taking control of their own learning.
-http://www.google.co.in/search?rlz=1C1GPCK_enIN386&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF8q=the+best+value+in+formative+assessment+by+Stephen+Chappuis+and+Jan+Chappu is