I found that the section about asking the right questions was very appealing to me. I am doing the FbI project and since I teach lower grades I am having troubles with what types of questions to ask, and how to ask them so students will understand instead of just click an answer. I do not want too many questions but I want to gather enough information. Finding what questions are the right questions to ask will take some trial and error.
I also think that the question of "how will we know when each student has learned it"is a very important question yet it is a very complicated question. I have a big class and students at many different levels who think in many different ways. There are many different ways that a student could show me that they have learned something and that sometimes the curriculum doesn't allow for many different ways to show learning. I have found that looking at an end of the unit test and re-writing it so there are many different questions (write, draw pictures, think of an opposite etc.) to show different ways of thinking has been the best way for me to gather data and allow students to show me how they have learned something.
I absolutely feel the same way about finding out "how we will know when each student has learned it". Having a large class with such different abilities does make it challenging to ensure you are meeting the needs of everyone. And I like what you said about re-writing tests or assessments to show different ways of thinking, but unfortunately I find it tough when students are expected to complete a standardized assessment ( or complete a computer-based assessment) and their score doesn't always reflect whether or not they knew the content. Currently, I am struggling a bit with having my first graders do these assessments online (ex. easyCBM- math or the new online assessment called MAPS) because I know many of them get frustrated using the technology and then it becomes a barrier in truly assessing their knowledge.... but, we're working on it! ;)
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the movie "Educating Rita" which is a great movie for teachers to see by the way...take a look at this clip if you have time -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJNA0heZki8
IN the clip, the teacher criticizes the student's answer because it is not in "Essay" format. However, her answer is very deep in reality. We need to determine sometimes what we really want from kids.... is it "understanding"(such as knowing why the radio is the best format for presenting Ibsen's "Peer Gynt") or is it a "task" (such as writing an essay) Let's make sure our students know both WHAT they should learn, and HOW to present it effectively.