In education, we also need to ask ourselves if we have arrived at our final destination. As an educator I want to ensure that my students reach their final destination of success with their greatest potential. Therefore, it is important to me that, I incorporate mile markers along their routes. I want to create a definite point at which we can stop along the road, asses where we were, where we are now, and where we are heading next. Therefore I feel it is important to evaluate and assess students through their educational journey.
Before I begin a new area of content, I want to put on the brakes and identify what prior knowledge my students have in this content area. I feel it is important to gain a census of where we are now, what we already know, so I can appropriately navigate our class learning in the right direction. Once I have an understanding of what my students already know, I will then be able to identify a point of which I can intervene and pick up with new content material.
After we begin and throughout our learning process, I feel it is important to check for student understanding along the way. A formative assessment is great for checking for progress of where we are now in our learning process. Therefore, on our route to success, I feel it is beneficial to add mile markers such as formative assessments as a gauge of student learning. This mile marker allows me as the teacher to analyze what my students are learning and if we are meeting the objectives I have set forth.
Continuing on our route to success I feel it is important for students to express what they have and are learning through various forms of expression. If applied at the end of the unit, this form of assessment would be titled a summative assessment, in which it evaluates what the students have learned. How far have we traveled? An example of a summative assessment in my floral design course may include asking my students to create a holiday arrangement that identifies 5 design element and 5 principles of design. To assess or evaluate my students learning in this content area, I am asking them to demonstrate their learning and apply that leaning through a floral creation. As the educator, I will assess this project using a rubric. By using a rubric I can quickly and accurately assess my students learning based on what they have demonstrated. Using a rubric to evaluate student learning also allows my assessment criteria to be uniformed and equal for all students(unless an accommodation or modification is required).Throughout our journey to success I feel it is important to always ask questions. I want my students to constantly be thinking and applying the knowledge they are learning and also go beyond what we are learning. Questioning is a great simple tool for evaluating students learning process and identifying what they are capturing as important material. I feel it is important to ask high level critical thinking questions. I want to push my students to think hard, and apply what we are learning to solve problems.
As an educator, I feel assessments and evaluations are very beneficial to ensure student learning. As my students embark on their routes to success, I want them to take the long way, or the winding path. I want them to think and to use their skills and knowledge to navigate them to great success. However, on the long and windy road, and even along the narrow straight path, there are always mile markers and areas to pull over. Therefore, I feel it is important to always assess and evaluate student learning to ensure we are on the right path to success. ~Ms. Timmons
Reading material emphasizing topics in this blog, such as rubrics, formative and summative assessments can be found at:
Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2015). Assessing student learning. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/index.html
Stoughton, A.L. & Myers, B.E. (2008) Creating and working with rubrics. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06900.pdf
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