Showing posts with label Assessment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assessment. Show all posts
Friday, 2 December 2016
Assessment Reflection
Q: Think about how you will use the Assessment page of your Digital Portfolio during your first teaching block.
I will use my assessment page to remind myself my growth from what I though assessment in school was, and how it is actually more similar to my experience through singing lessons than I thought it would be. I will also use it as inspiration to motivate me to implement for, as and of learning strategies in not only my placement class, but also in extracurricular opportunities, like privately teaching in my home.
I will also use my assessment page, specifically the AER form, to use as reference to any questions or strategies I can use to help with assessment or planning ideas. I found some very comprehensive strategy guide on Assessment As Learning, as well as working with the Achievement Chart that I would like to really get to know more thoroughly.
Q: Choose 1 professional learning goal from your AER Strategy Form that you would want to emphasize during a job interview.
I would talk about using the achievement chart to guide my lessons in an interview. I found an interesting resource that explained how to use the chart effectively, and it provided examples of how to implement each category in multiple facets. This is a key component and ability for differentiation, and to provide students with many different opportunities to demonstrate learning. Often, this is assumed in the end product, but I found it interesting that this resource suggested differentiating for each achievement chart category with performance, conversation and written strategies to assess knowledge, thinking, communication and application.
I will use my assessment page to remind myself my growth from what I though assessment in school was, and how it is actually more similar to my experience through singing lessons than I thought it would be. I will also use it as inspiration to motivate me to implement for, as and of learning strategies in not only my placement class, but also in extracurricular opportunities, like privately teaching in my home.
I will also use my assessment page, specifically the AER form, to use as reference to any questions or strategies I can use to help with assessment or planning ideas. I found some very comprehensive strategy guide on Assessment As Learning, as well as working with the Achievement Chart that I would like to really get to know more thoroughly.
Q: Choose 1 professional learning goal from your AER Strategy Form that you would want to emphasize during a job interview.
I would talk about using the achievement chart to guide my lessons in an interview. I found an interesting resource that explained how to use the chart effectively, and it provided examples of how to implement each category in multiple facets. This is a key component and ability for differentiation, and to provide students with many different opportunities to demonstrate learning. Often, this is assumed in the end product, but I found it interesting that this resource suggested differentiating for each achievement chart category with performance, conversation and written strategies to assess knowledge, thinking, communication and application.
Friday, 25 November 2016
Road Map to Success
Success has Sprouted
The Ontario Ministry of Education document, Growing Success, is a goldmine of information that is extremely valuable to pre-service teachers. It breaks down everything from navigating the curriculum expectations, explaining learning goals and success criteria, the types of evidence of learning, and the difference between formative and summative assessment. All this information is followed by a step by step walk-through of the report card system and what to expect when completing a class set two times a year, in addition to a progress report in the fall. In addition to the walk-through, it also provides a few chapters of strategies for assessing students with special needs, such as IEPs, ESL, or any modification/accommodations.
What Do You Want?!?
One enduring idea that I gained from reading this document was the importance of developing learning goals and success criteria in student friendly language, and making it transparent consistently throughout the lesson. I don’t remember this being something I was aware of in my elementary schooling. This leads me to believe it might have been given during some assignments, but not explicitly explained as the point of the lesson, and how I could show I understood the concept. Going into my undergrad, and even into this post grad program, I appreciate how frustrating it is when you are given an assignment, but the purpose and criteria are vague. I do not know what direction to start, or how I can make sure I cover what is expected. Often, my work might vary greatly from that of my peers’. Because of this disparity in expectations, I may be disappointed with my final assessment, or feel like my work is worth more than the person who did less than me, but got the same result. This experience is something I will remember in my own teaching when planning any lesson.
It is important to give students access to the learning goals and success criteria, and stress the importance of referring to the criteria often during the learning process. By doing this, student should develop the habit of checking guidelines as they work, and edit as needed. This will ideally help diminish the disparity between the quality of student’s work, as the habit develops.
As I said, I will be sure to make the learning goals and success criteria clear for my students in my classroom, but I will also take this approach to my teaching privately. I spoke about my learning experience in vocal lessons growing up, and how the model was mostly assessment as and for learning, with minimal summative assessment. But I did not talk about my experience teaching privately.
Outside the Classroom
I taught private voice lessons for about 15 students while covering a maternity leave. As a first time teacher with absolutely zero training in how to run a vocal lesson, I was at a loss at how to manage practicing or tracking student growth. I managed to swim with my head just above water, and my students progressed successfully, but it was not without many bumps along the way. If I had known about the strategy of providing clear learning goals and success criteria for a lesson, a span of lessons or even for a specific song or technique, not only would I have had an easier narrowing down a focus for feedback and finding strategies to help my students, but it would also have given students a clear understanding of what they needed to work towards during the lesson, and during their practice time. Students often would say they didn’t know how to practice, even if I gave them something to work on. Perhaps just saying “say these lyrics as a monologue” or “practice this exercise this week”, I should have given them attainable goals, and described how they would be successful in their practicing. I might say “recite these lyrics as a monologue using expression and natural pauses. Make sure you can put accents on certain words, experiment with gestures and facial expressions, play with dynamic changes. You should practice it 3 different ways each time you practice.” Perhaps providing a learning goal and success criteria for each step of learning a song, or what it looks like to correctly practice a technical exercise. Growing up, a similar method might have motivated me to practice singing more, and more efficiently too. I would have gone into a lesson more confident and even if I didn’t practice enough, I would have at least had an idea of what we were going to focus on during my lesson. My students would most likely have benefited the same, and I intend to implement this when I open a private studio in the (hopefully soon) future.
Being transparent with the purpose of a task and the criteria to be successful gives students the road map to their learning. They are most likely to meet you along the way if the know the path to follow.
Saturday, 29 October 2016
A Tale of Two Educations
Little Bit About Me
Growing up, I was fortunate enough to experience two types of education. I went to a school like every other kid and was formally taught my ABC’s and numbers, but during kindergarten, I also began piano lessons, where I learnt my do-re-mi’s and how to read music. I eventually dropped piano lessons when I was 12, focusing on the singing lessons I started to take when I was 9. I would continue to receive both types of education simultaneously until I graduated university. Yes, even in my undergrad, I received voice lessons from my professor 4 days a week along side my academic classes.
Were They Different?
Both experiences were different, yet similar. Obviously I didn’t go to a teacher every day like I did in formal school, but I went every week. I had learning goals for each week like I would in formal schooling, and at the end of the year, I would receive a few grades.
The biggest difference besides the formal vs informal setting was how I was assessed. In school, I was assessed by tests and essays with grades frequently. In lessons, I was given constant feedback and when I went home, I would practice and monitor my success, then go back to my teacher the next week, and receive more feedback based on my progress. The cycle was recursive of formative assessment and self reflection, or assessment for learning and assessment as learning. I would receive a summative mark towards my progress in competition and exams at the end of the year.
Because of my year long cycle filled with feedback and self reflection, I would look at the grades after my competition as an afterthought. I wanted to read the feedback notes. What did I do well, what could I improve on, was there strategies listed to help my success? In my lesson, my teacher and I would then discuss and reflect back on the competition in relation to the feedback, and I would ALWAYS improve based on that feedback. Every other year or so, I would work towards a graded exam for singing. I would learn repertoire, exercises, skills all year, and then be tested in June to see how well I learned the skills in order to move on to the next grade. When I received my final grade, it was usually a reflection of what I already knew were my strengths and weaknesses because of all the feedback I received throughout the year. It was similar in university. My teacher and I would spend a couple semesters exchanging feedback and reflection, and when I was given a final grade for year, I already knew the reasons why it was accessed as such.
The biggest difference besides the formal vs informal setting was how I was assessed. In school, I was assessed by tests and essays with grades frequently. In lessons, I was given constant feedback and when I went home, I would practice and monitor my success, then go back to my teacher the next week, and receive more feedback based on my progress. The cycle was recursive of formative assessment and self reflection, or assessment for learning and assessment as learning. I would receive a summative mark towards my progress in competition and exams at the end of the year.
Because of my year long cycle filled with feedback and self reflection, I would look at the grades after my competition as an afterthought. I wanted to read the feedback notes. What did I do well, what could I improve on, was there strategies listed to help my success? In my lesson, my teacher and I would then discuss and reflect back on the competition in relation to the feedback, and I would ALWAYS improve based on that feedback. Every other year or so, I would work towards a graded exam for singing. I would learn repertoire, exercises, skills all year, and then be tested in June to see how well I learned the skills in order to move on to the next grade. When I received my final grade, it was usually a reflection of what I already knew were my strengths and weaknesses because of all the feedback I received throughout the year. It was similar in university. My teacher and I would spend a couple semesters exchanging feedback and reflection, and when I was given a final grade for year, I already knew the reasons why it was accessed as such.
Self-esteem and Grades
Now, this alternative education didn’t fully change the way I looked at grades in my formal schooling. I still cared about what grade I was given, and I was devastated when I received a bad mark. But at the same time, my music education influenced my evaluation of how I interpreted my self esteem based on my grade. Having the constant cycle of feedback and reflection towards gradual goals allowed me to understand what personal growth really meant, and reinforced a growth mindset which translated over to my reaction to grades. Yes, I wanted to do well, but I didn’t care how my grade was compared to everyone else’s. I was trying to either beat my previous grade or at least maintain it.
I also had a better understanding of realistic expectations of my grade meant in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. While an 80% essay might be a good grade compared to the average in the class, to me that was a not so great grade. I knew I was capable of much higher. However, when I would receive a 68% in a math assignment, I would be okay with that when I usually received low 60’s and 50’s. I based my esteem on how I was growing as a learner, and not what that grade meant based on the average.
I also had a better understanding of realistic expectations of my grade meant in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. While an 80% essay might be a good grade compared to the average in the class, to me that was a not so great grade. I knew I was capable of much higher. However, when I would receive a 68% in a math assignment, I would be okay with that when I usually received low 60’s and 50’s. I based my esteem on how I was growing as a learner, and not what that grade meant based on the average.
Music lessons really helped change my mindset towards what assessment means and is something I would like to add to my future students’ experience.
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