Assessment Tips

This week in class we learned about some tips for assessment in math. The first tip that was shared was to focus on one standard at a time on a test or quiz because if you are trying to assess too much then both the students and the teacher can become worn down and will not perform as well as they would like to. It is important to remember that we must allow students to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. Including questions that are more thematic and conceptual will allow students to personalize their answers and incorporate their learning style into their answer. Often students will have anxiety about writing tests, providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and how they got there will take some of the pressure away.

Taken from Pinterest

When marking students work it is important to provide them with effective feedback on what they did well and next steps. Provide students with the next steps they need to follow in order to be successful on future tests or assignments. Give students the encouragement that they can be successful at math with a growth mindset. Descriptive feedback is important because students will use this feedback throughout the year, the comments are more individual versus students just receiving a grade and comparing scores with one another.

It is important to include the three kinds of assessment throughout any unit. Assessment as learning, for learning, and of learning. Providing students with various opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge provides them with the opportunity to be successful. The key goal of assessment is to improve student learning and to actively engage students in their learning. Students and teachers can come up with the success criteria together to ensure they understand the task at hand. Teachers can use the gradual release of responsibility model when it comes to assessment. First teachers can model the task, have guided instruction that eventually leads to independent instruction. Provide students with opportunities to practice in class as well as to self-assess.

http://www.ogapmath.com/overview

As educators it is crucial that we provide assessment for students that is fair and equitable. Provide different ways of demonstrating their knowledge by modifying the process or even he product. Students that may be more hands on learners may enjoy making something for their product while others may enjoy a write-up. Differentiation when it comes to assessment is key. The needs of the students must always be taken into consideration.

Blended Learning

Welcome back to my blog as we are in week four and approaching the end of the course. This week we learned about blended learning that differs from simple in class learning. There are various types of blended learning that we explored and the corresponding resources on how to incorporate blended learning into your lessons.

The first model of blended learning we explored was station rotation that allows students to rotate through various stations on a fixed schedule. At least one of these stations is an online station. The station rotation model is often used in elementary schools because students are used to learning in stations already.

https://www.blendedlearning.org/models/

The second model that was explored was the A La Carte model where students are able to take an online course with an online teacher and face to face classes. This model provides students with more flexibility over their schedules. The a la carte method may be used in a high school setting that provides students with a blended learning opportunity.

https://www.blendedlearning.org/models/

The third model that we explored was enriched virtual that is an alternative to full-time online school that allows students to complete most of their school work at home or online. However with enriched virtual there are face-to-face classes that are required for students to attend. Most enriched virtual classrooms allow students to only attend twice a week providing students with flexibility over their schedule as well.

https://www.blendedlearning.org/models/

One of the benefits of blended learning is that it can appeal to various learning styles where students are able to do more work at home if they find they work better in those environments. Students are able to use technology to their advantage with watching videos online that help them learn various units and subjects. One of the resources that we explored was through EduGains. The EduGains website provides educators with various blended learning lesson plans that have to do with all grades and math units. Teachers can use these resources in order to incorporate blended learning even into one or two of the lessons in a unit using technology. One of the lessons that I explored required using a data input application where students would take surveys and input the information onto an online application where the data could be analyzed for future use. With the growing use of technology, blended learning could be the future that we will begin to see more of.

Rich Tasks

This week we learned about what exactly is a rich task and how can we incorporate rich tasks into math class for our students. Rich tasks are ones that encourage students to think outside the box and look at things from different viewpoints. Rich tasks must first and foremost be engaging. If a task in a lesson is not engaging then it is very easy to lose the students attention and focus. I found that back in my elementary and high school math classes, that math was a very one way worksheet and formula subject that incorporated no engaging tasks and word problems that were hard to understand and only had one right or wrong answer.

http://www.triedandtrueteachingtools.com/2016/08/rich-mathematical-tasks.html

Problem solving is crucial in math, but I strongly believe there needs to be more problem solving where students are encouraged to take different routes to find the answer and have opportunities to reason their way to new understandings. Rich tasks can also incorporate other subjects or areas of the curriculum such as visual arts, science, language, and more. Students can evolve their skills in just more than one area. Often students will be performing a task and not even realize that they are doing math in disguise. Rich tasks must also be ones where the student is able to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways and offers options. Students must be able to represent their knowledge orally, visually, or in written form.

Differentiation is key with rich tasks as students are not all the same and we must provide them with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways. Every student must be able to start the task in a way that they feel most comfortable but also provide a challenge to every student so that they are able to learn and develop. Lastly students must always be entering a task with a positive mindset and perseverance. Mistakes must not only be welcomed but encouraged because this is when students will be learning the most.

http://ca.mathletics.com/richlearning/