In the article, Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding, Lorrie Sheppard, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Colorado, gives strategies to illustrate various ways of learning that can take place in the classroom through assessment. The first of which includes discovering prior knowledge. The use of pre-tests should be a common classroom activity where children can use what they already know to help them process new ideas. Once teachers are aware of their students’ understanding of concepts, they can modify their lessons in order to accommodate the child’s knowledge. One example of an assessment that uses prior knowledge is Ogle’s K-W-L technique. Students are asked to list specific things about the topic being studied under the “K”, “W”, and “L” sections. “K” being the things the students already know, “W” being the things students hope to learn, and “L” being what the students have learned after the lesson. A benefit of using the K-W-L technique is teachers see what their students are getting out of the lesson. It also helps the students organize their thoughts about the subject and helps them think about what they want to get out of the lesson. “As another way to draw connections between students learning experiences in and out of school” (Sheppard, 2005, p. 68) teachers can also identify their students’ “funds of knowledge”. “Funds of knowledge” is the connection between school and home. Sheppard gives us the example of a teacher who observed her students in their home setting. She observed a child selling candy to a neighbor and from this she developed a unit using candy. For an activity students looked at differences between United States and Mexican candies. This helps the students create a relationship between their prior knowledge and the lesson.
Students as well as teachers are a large part in the formative assessment process; these formative assessments encourage learning. Jan Chappuis (2005) author of Helping Students Understand Assessment tells us, “students were the primary users of primary formative assessments information” (p. 40). The children are responsible for their own learning with a bit of guidance from their teacher. Chappuis gives strategies that a teacher can use to make sure students are involved in the formative assessment process. To help students, teachers should “provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning target” (Chappuis, 2005, p. 40). In order to hold students accountable for their actions teachers need students to understand what is expected of them. Use language that the students can understand and the directions needs to be very specific. “Use examples of strong and weak work” (Chappuis, 2005, p. 40), show models of excellent performance to help the students gage their own work. Providing students with a rubric shows them exactly what the teacher is expecting. Having students evaluative a peer’s work, can also be utilized as a learning tool. While evaluating the examples, the teacher, needs to use clear wording to let the children know what was not correct. In doing so, the students can identify their current standing in regards to examples.
While reading the articles about using assessment in the classroom it gave me insight to many aspects of teaching. I love the idea of using assessment as a learning tool and plan on incorporating these techniques in my classroom on a daily basis. I want to place assessment in instruction by including specific activities that allow children to demonstrate their current knowledge and skills without having to stop for a formal test. I know I will be using class discussion and observations as a way to assess my students. For effective class discussion I want to create a supportive environment where students feel they can ask and address questions without feeling embarrassed. I can observe my students in a variety of ways. I want to be able to walk around the classroom while students are doing an assignment and just look at what’s going on. This will show me the students who are diligently doing work or are having a hard time. Both of these techniques are a prompt way to look at all my students and see what needs to be corrected. Implementing all the ideas which I explained will make my classroom a comfortable environment for myself as well as my students. If my students know what is expected of them there should not be any questioning about grades.
References
Burns, M. (1995, November). Looking at How Students Reason. Educational Leadership,
Pp. 26-31.
Chappuis, J. (2005, November). Helping Students Understand Assessment. Educational Leadership, Pp. 39-43.
Sheppard, L. (2005, November). Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding. Educational Leadership, Pp. 66-70.