Chapter seven is no exception in that it is a richly covered chapter. It is all about assessment. The first thing that struck me was the assessment cycle models that were presented in the video. I truly believe that as a middle school teacher this is important to keep the assessment cycle in mind to help make sure that your students are actually learning what you want them to learn or accomplish. The one I identified the most with was the identify, assess, interpret, improve.
The second thing that I noticed about the chapter was that there are three critical types of assessment that need to be done. The first one is the pre-assessment. Then it's the formative assessment. Then the final one is the summative assessment. All three of these are used, and should be used, throughout so as to always make sure that your students are understanding and on the page you want them to be so to speak. I truly believe too that we as middle school teachers need to remember that all three of these work together.
A third thing that stood out to me about this chapter was the criterion-referenced versus norm-referenced grading. Its important to remember the difference in these because if you use the wrong kind of grading than you could be sending a wrong message. Especially with my teaching style and philosophy I don't want to encourage competition or discourage cooperative learning. This is why the authors even stated that using specifically norm-referenced grading is not recommended for those exact reasons.
A fourth thing that I got from this chapter is the power of students being involved in self-assessment. I think this goes right along with my philosophy and teaching style as well.This is because it makes me as a facilitator, helps the students by having them take responsibility, and it lets them have control over their own learning. As middle school teachers, I feel self-assessment is an extremely useful tool that we need to use more often. Students, especially at the middle school level need to take more initiative in their learning and this is the perfect opportunity for them too. An example of this is having them save their papers and grades from nine weeks, etc. and have them calculate their own grades. Another example of this would be to proofread their papers and correct them themselves.
A fifth thing that I really liked from this chapter was the chart that talked about testing and alignment with Bloom's taxonomy. I think it is important for us to remember how to challenge our student, especially middle school level, when we are constructing their tests. This is truly a way for us to delve into how their higher level thinking is about what we just taught them. So, in that regard, I absolutely believe that we need to make sure that we are using higher order thinking questions on their tests.
A sixth thing that I took away from this chapter is three avenues for assessing my students. The three are what the student says, what the student does, and what the student writes. I truly believe that all of these ways are important. I also think that truly assessing my students will mean that I am using and assessing a mixture of the three. This means that I feel like if I am only assessing one of the avenues, then I am not seeing the other two and I believe that all three work together.
Overall, this chapter has so many great things in it that I couldn't even begin to cover it all. I am so pleased with all that I have learned not only from this chapter, but throughout this whole course. I cannot believe that this is my last blog of the semester. It seems like just yesterday I was starting this and now I am done. Also although it may be over, I will certainly take everything I have learned course wide and use it in my future middle school classroom!
Monday, June 8, 2015
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Chapter Six Post
Chapter six is certainly another intensely covered chapter. It is all about instruction. The very first thing that caught my eye was the Cuban model that was talked about in the video. There were the three main words that were associated with that model and those were intended, taught, and learned. These are referring to the three different types of curriculum that middle level teachers often times use. The intended curriculum is based around the alignment of standards, the curriculum itself, etc. The taught curriculum is where you actually are in the classroom with the students, and are engaged with them. The learned curriculum is the assessment part. There were also two other terms that were mentioned in relation to the Cuban model. They are historical and hidden. The historical curriculum is the standards part. We as middle school teachers need to make sure that we are aligning what we plan and do with the historical curriculum. The hidden curriculum is the part that happens "behind the scenes" so to speak. It happens almost subconsciously. It also includes the teachers day to day type things as well.
A second thing that I noticed out of this chapter is the way that curriculum versus instruction has changed over the last century. Over the last century, the amount of instruction(the how) has increased. It has changed from the idea of it being a teacher lead, lecture based, etc. to adding things that have been researched on. For example multiple intelligences, cooperative learning etc. During this part it also talked a lot about traditional versus non traditional. This is meaning that traditional is very geared toward the subject or content areas, and the non traditional is geared toward more higher level thinking skills.
A third thing that stood out to me from this chapter is the three phase learning cycle. The first phase in this learning cycle is the exploratory hands-on phase. In this phase, students are able to explore their own ideas. This leads them to develop their own questions. The second phase is the invention phase. This is where the students change their thinking to where the new information that they are receiving will fit. This is done with the teacher being the partner for the students and guiding them through the process. The third phase is the expansion or application phase. This is where students take the new knowledge that they have just acquired and apply it to a real life situation etc.These are extremely important for us as middle school teachers to use because this is a cycle that will not only help us make sure we are aligned with our goals and objectives during our lesson planning, but it will also help us determine if the students have really learned what we have wanted them to learn.
A fourth thing that I noticed out of this chapter was the learning experiences ladder. I loved that the authors put this in there because it reminds me that especially as a middle school teacher I will need to make sure that I am using the more concrete experiences.to make sure that the students experiences are more meaningful for them. I also think that the more concrete experiences will go along with my teaching philosophy. This is because the more concrete experiences will allow me to be more of a facilitator, and my students will feel like they have a say in their learning which will benefit them as well as myself.
The fifth and certainly not final thing that I took away from this chapter is the theories that they talked about. One of them was multiple intelligences which I had referenced earlier in this post. This particular theory talks about how there are different ways of knowing that students may have. They are also referenced as capacities. There are nine of these capacities that are discussed in this theory, They are kinesthetic, existentialist, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical, musical, naturalist, linguistic, and visual. I loved this because I think its important for teachers, especially middle school teachers, to cater to all of your students capacities especially when lesson planning so as to ensure that all of your students have that opportunity to succeed on a topic that is being learned or studied.
Overall, this chapter had many great ideas and points throughout, It was hard to only pick a couple. I will certainly take all of this information that I have learned and put it to use in my instruction and lesson planning! I cannot believe that this semester is almost over. I have learned so much so far and I am excited to see what this last chapter brings!
A second thing that I noticed out of this chapter is the way that curriculum versus instruction has changed over the last century. Over the last century, the amount of instruction(the how) has increased. It has changed from the idea of it being a teacher lead, lecture based, etc. to adding things that have been researched on. For example multiple intelligences, cooperative learning etc. During this part it also talked a lot about traditional versus non traditional. This is meaning that traditional is very geared toward the subject or content areas, and the non traditional is geared toward more higher level thinking skills.
A third thing that stood out to me from this chapter is the three phase learning cycle. The first phase in this learning cycle is the exploratory hands-on phase. In this phase, students are able to explore their own ideas. This leads them to develop their own questions. The second phase is the invention phase. This is where the students change their thinking to where the new information that they are receiving will fit. This is done with the teacher being the partner for the students and guiding them through the process. The third phase is the expansion or application phase. This is where students take the new knowledge that they have just acquired and apply it to a real life situation etc.These are extremely important for us as middle school teachers to use because this is a cycle that will not only help us make sure we are aligned with our goals and objectives during our lesson planning, but it will also help us determine if the students have really learned what we have wanted them to learn.
A fourth thing that I noticed out of this chapter was the learning experiences ladder. I loved that the authors put this in there because it reminds me that especially as a middle school teacher I will need to make sure that I am using the more concrete experiences.to make sure that the students experiences are more meaningful for them. I also think that the more concrete experiences will go along with my teaching philosophy. This is because the more concrete experiences will allow me to be more of a facilitator, and my students will feel like they have a say in their learning which will benefit them as well as myself.
The fifth and certainly not final thing that I took away from this chapter is the theories that they talked about. One of them was multiple intelligences which I had referenced earlier in this post. This particular theory talks about how there are different ways of knowing that students may have. They are also referenced as capacities. There are nine of these capacities that are discussed in this theory, They are kinesthetic, existentialist, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical, musical, naturalist, linguistic, and visual. I loved this because I think its important for teachers, especially middle school teachers, to cater to all of your students capacities especially when lesson planning so as to ensure that all of your students have that opportunity to succeed on a topic that is being learned or studied.
Overall, this chapter had many great ideas and points throughout, It was hard to only pick a couple. I will certainly take all of this information that I have learned and put it to use in my instruction and lesson planning! I cannot believe that this semester is almost over. I have learned so much so far and I am excited to see what this last chapter brings!
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