A new online high school for gifted kids
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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I feel that the authors hit the nail on the head from the very beginning of this chapter when they stated, "Teachers who randomly put kids into groups and then give them different assignments miss the point. That is not differentiation. Differentiation is not just doing something different." I feel that I have incorporated this idea in to my classroom in considering my gifted students' varying abilities more and being aware of their learning styles. As well, I agree that assessment should be ongoing throughout a unit. In learning to differentiate, I have become more adept at monitoring for progress informally during a lesson instead of waiting for the big test at the end to see who attained the skills.
ReplyDeletep.149 I feel that the comment Scentanni said, "that differentiation is not just doing something different". In my case, I do not have the gifted and talented students in my resource and inclusion classes. However, they are being taught the TEKS at their grade level with the varying levels of differentiated curriculum with modifications for their varying abilities and their learning styles. They are assessed differently according to their specific testing modifications and different types of TAKS, TAKS Accom, or TAKS Modified state assessments according to their IEP goals and objectives. I look for their strengths and how they're able to apply learning styles and strategies to help them succeed by experiencing continous progress so it will encourage them to be lifelong learners.
ReplyDeleteOn p. 150 there is a quote that asks the reader to "notice the connection between content and realistic application of the content. Real-world products encourage and require high-level thinking including creative thinking about the content." Over the course of the book, the focus has been on the GT student however, this differentiation is applicable across all learning levels. In history classes, students wonder why they have to learn about something that happened many years ago. My goal has become not only to teach them the history but how it affects them today creating real world lessons that encourage them to be interested in the subject and not just learning to take/pass a test.
ReplyDeleteI think my biggest adjustments in terms of assesment will be more pre-assesment going on in my classroom. The book really made an impression on me in terms of the essential nature of pre-assesment and its role in determining how to group and teach students in my class. As the book plainly states on p. 165 "instruction should be a response to assement" both pre and post. Without taking a close look at both what our students come with and what they take away we cannot, or are not effectively teaching them and monitoring the timeline of teaching we create.
ReplyDeleteI agree with scentanni in that the book has allowed me to explore the notion that differetiation is not just doing something different as well as the value in doing it. I will definitely be changing the way I teach and manipulating my groups in more effective ways to accomodate thier interests, abilities, and learning styles. I think this book is extremely valuable and hope to be able to collaborate with teachers on my campus and grade level that will also be making these adaptations to their teaching.
ReplyDelete2.I think that the most important part of the “Taming the Assessment Beast” is summed up on page 150 under the Authentic Assessment section. Don’t waste time with tests that don’t have a purpose and use different types of “tests”. In science we use projects, lab tests, interactive ACTIVboard games etc. I also think that a test should be a learning experience for the students, not just a chance to spit back isolated facts. Make the test challenging. It doesn’t have to be 200 questions long to be challenging, 10 questions that they have to think about or problems they have to solve serves the same purpose.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I altered in my classroom based on my readings was “Products”.
ReplyDeletePage 151 – “Increasing interest in what is being learned is key to creating a classroom in which everyone is learning.”
I have been so amazed at what the students are doing for their “products”.
They are learning so much more and they are excited about what they are learning and I am learning new things. Who knew!!
I agree with oliveri in that we don’t need to waste time with test that don’t have a purpose and its ok to use different types of “test”. I can give my students 5 questions over a lab we did are have interactive discussions using the actvivotes to see what they have learned.
ReplyDeleteI have worked very hard to provide differentiated experiences for my students in all subject areas and to link my assessments to authentic real world experiences. But the one constant frustration for me is how to accurately and consistently grade all of the different projects and products generated through this differentiation. The authors state on page 151, "If we are to assess pieces of technical writing, a dance, or a monologue, we need to understand what the critical components of each of those products are and what indicates excellence." It takes much more time to grade these critical thinking projects than it does to grade a multiple choice test. Having a standardized scoring rubric makes this task much easier. I particularly like the DAP Tool discussed in the chapter. This is an all-inclusive rubric that will work with most products. In the future, I will definitely employ this tool when assessing student products.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have often used rubrics in my assessments, I found the products section on page 151 to be very helpful. I love the sentence..."Matching products to the student's interests, levels of readiness, and/or learning preferences can boost engagementin learning." As teachers I think that is one of our goals. If students are engaged and involved with their learning it will be much more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with oliverl's comments of authentic assessment. As stated, in teaching science I also use projects, lab tests, interactive ACTIVboard games etc. The students are involved and love the hands on activities. It definitely gives them opportunities to see and work with real materials, which again, makes it more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteSara Russo states that "differentiation is applicable across all learning levels." I agree. As I read this book, I did not simply see it as a tool to use with GT students. Differentiation is paramount to ALL student learning. For the majority of educators, a variety of learning abilities greets us at the door each morning. If given a chance, these students can exhibit talents that expand their learning potential, as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what I have already done as much as what I will do. Recently my students selected tasks on a Think-tac-toe of explorers. After reading about the ongoing assessment and end assessment (p. 149)I find comfort in trusting judgment to send students back to work on a project, as well as relying on an end assessment like the DAP tool. Hopefully, I will use it for this initial attempt at think-tac-toes. The experience will be valuable. Overall, I look at time management differently - from opting to go with a project, its planning, student preassessment,implementation, ongoing assessment, end assessment, to "publication" of the work. My priorities are straightening out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with: I think my biggest adjustments in terms of assesment will be more pre-assesment going on in my classroom. from sanchezh.
ReplyDeleteI find that I am giving more pre-assessments especially in math before I more to the week's objective. I have found that it is very easy to start the week off with a small questionaire about the material and then quickly check the problems for comprehension. the stduents that pass the preassessment are then able to move ahead in the stations/activites and them this allows me to focus on those that do not get the material without having redirection for off task behaviors.
I think that the item that has changed my classroom the most would be the creativity aspect of the assessments given in the chapter. I love this section, I have also tried it on several writing/math activities and the level of work/topics that the stduents are able to brainstrom and then back up are incredible. The writing risks that students take knowing that the creativity rubric will be used, producing very entertaining and more well written pieces since there is really no boundaries along as they follow or answer the prompt. It seems to be very freeing for the students.
I think that the biggest adjustment I have made and will continue to make is preassessment. While I design my lab experiments with a set goal in mind I only see the classes about once every two weeks. I generally have no idea what the classroom teacher has covered with them before they come to lab. What I have done this semester is to begin each class by asking the students what they have been learning in science in the classroom. This allows me to adjust my lab as needed based on their answers. While the experiment does not change the tasks within the experiment and questions I ask can be modified to fit the needs of the students.
ReplyDeleteAnother preassessment tool i would like to use more next year is a set of books that contain open ended probes for science. They are published by NSTA and allow for students to complete a quick assessment about a specific science topic and justify why they made the choices they did. By using these in the lab or even sending them to the teachers to have their class fill them out a day or two before they come to lab it would allow me to better prepare for what we cover and how deep I cover a given topic in the science lab. It would also allow me to have an alternative activity for some students who may have a solid understanding of the topic I was going to cover and provide more time on task for them.
I feel that this book study has really made me be more aware of the need to pre-assess students so that I know where they are at the beginning of a unit. I already use rubrics in my assessment, but am really interested in the DAP tool that is talked about on page 153. I like that it provides consistency at all levels. I also like the DAP examples in the later part of the chapter. My goal is to start incorporating more of these tools into my lessons.
ReplyDeleteSanchezh writes, "As the book plainly states on p. 165 'instruction should be a response to assessment' both pre and post...[for] effectively teaching them and monitoring the timeline of teaching we create." I look forward to a new approach in planning units with better preassessments
ReplyDeleteI agree with Oliverl in stating not to waste time on tests that lack a purpose. Authentic assessment with different products are more valuable and offer students more opportunities to be creative and thoughtful, I think.
ReplyDeleteSara russo valued the statement "notice the connection between content and realistic application of the content. Real-world products encourage and require high-level thinking including creative thinking about the content." I completely agree with her goal to teach children content and how it affects them today. This encourages analyzing information and synthesizing it in a new light. I encourage this also, attempting to motivate students toward life-long learning.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the opening lines of the chapter which stated (p. 150) “teachers must break away from traditional pen and paper assessments. After having completed the initial GT training, I began to look at assessment in a different way. I began to have my students create more “products” than just answering multiple choice test questions. I plan on using the levels for assessing performance (1-6) that are explained on p. 156. They are fantastic and very user friendly. I also feel that the final thoughts on assessments (p. 165) were very informative. It makes sense that assessments should be authentic and liked to real world stuff.
ReplyDelete@mcushing and corrin wilcox
ReplyDeleteI agree with the book and chapter making me more aware of the importance of pre-assesment for students. I plan on also working harder on doing this to have a better understanding of where my students are so that they can be challenged more.
I liked the definition of authentic assessment on p. 150. I've heard the term, used it and had an idea of what I think it is, but this is the first time I've seen a definition of it. I wholeheartedly agree that we must "break away from pen and paper assessments" as stated on p. 150. But where do we go? Love, love, love the section about products and how to assess a product from a student. The DAP Tools are fantastic and I will definitely be using those with my kids. It does take a lot of thought and planning, but I know it will be easier with time. The examples in the chapter and in the back of the book are great and I will take those and adapt, if needed, and run with it. This chapter made me really think about assessment and wonder why we don't all do this. It seems so common-sense!
ReplyDeleteLike so many people have stated above, preassessment has become much more important in my clasroom and will continue to be. The most useful ideas in this chapter pertain to the DAP Tools. They provide a base for templates for all projects with differentiation built-in. They clearly define the different "levels of expectations when assessing student work. (p.165)"--which has always been difficult for me. As mescales said above, I know that at first developing these tools in my classroom will take time, but with practice will become easier.
ReplyDeleteI always knew preassessment was important, but I'd never thought about different ways to preassess. I also liked the DAP Tool, whose description starts on page 153. It's common sense really--a consistent way to grade differentiated products. If we're going to differentiate instruction, we have to differentiate assessment, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara Russo and rebecca j above that "differentiation is applicable across all learning levels." As I have read and reflected on this book, I have consistantly thought about the application of the ideas to all of the students in my class. Differentiation is something that we are all asked to think about for all students. Guided reading is based on this concept. It's the only way to meet diverse needs. The ideas in this book have given me some new approaches and increased comfortability for example with different rubrics for different students (DAP rubrics).
ReplyDeleteThe authors as well as many in our book study have stated that “differentiation is not just doing something different.” This idea along with understanding that “assessment is the only real communication that lets children know if they are making progress” (p. 149) are my guiding statements while developing professional developments. Many professional developments include little to no assessment so how does one know if the educator already knows the material, if they are learning, or just making time.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sara Russo—I agree with you and the statement on p. 150 stating, “Real-world products encourage and require high-level thinking.” Gifted students thrive in an environment requiring high-level thinking not in a class setting that asks students to spit back the facts.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main things I learned about Taming the Assessment Beast, came from the 1st paragraph on p.150. “Although traditional end assessments may indeed have a place in the classroom, they should by no means be used exclusively.” Tests and quizzes are only one of the many ways that we can assess and it is important to make sure you are using a variety of different assessments in your classroom. I have recently created tic-tac-toe menus and used rubrics to grade them. I am also looking forward to using the DAP tool, which is completely new to me. I like that it focuses on content, presentation, creativity, and reflection and that it provides consistent feedback to the students.
ReplyDeleteThank you, brollins! Being flexible and creative about effective ways to "test" a student's knowledge is modifying and accommodating to meet a student's needs at its finest!
ReplyDeleteI was also struck, as were Sara Russo and Tiggeronmars, that differentiation does not mean just doing something different. A big part of my job is helping teachers understand this huge idea. As I read, I came up with the idea of putting together a teacher action-research group to explore differentiation within my building together. A core group of interested, like-minded people can achieve great things.
ReplyDeleteAs a Resource teacher, “taming the assessment beast” is an on-going challenge on so many levels! I really think the DAP Tool is going to be a great way to take assessment modification to a higher level. The components and the vocabulary convey a level of expectation that elevates and dignifies the learner’s work to being evaluated as a product worthy of serious evaluation. I think Tier I on p. 162 does a great job of using academic vocabulary and requiring thoughtful responses from both evaluator and student.
ReplyDeleteAs a counselor, I don't often do the same kind of academic assessments that are used in the regular classroom. However, this book and these chapters have made me much more aware of taking more time at the beginning of a guidance lesson to let children tell me what they know on a topic, and to be much more intentional about how I group students for discussion and reflection on the topics discussed.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned previously in the book (and in the blog) preassessment is as critical as assessment throughout the unit as well as at the end of the unit. While it has been easy to preassess certain concepts for which the district has provided the assessments (Math Navigators), I realize the need for developing additional pre-assessments on a wider variety of concepts. Additionally, I have had to monitor and adjust my grading of the Navigators by not just looking at the answers the students provide but also their methods for arriving at those answers. In some cases a child knows the concepts but misses the answer due to a careless mistake, especially common among my GT kiddos! The DAP tool, beginning on p. 153, looks like a wonderful instrument to use for assessment, and I intend to delve a little further into it to see how I can best incorporate it into my classroom assessment.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've done is try to take some old routine and give it a different spin thus enabling me to differentiating without it looking like it is more complex than it needs to be. I agree with everyone else's statements that I always thought it meant the kids had to be doing stuff totally different- it requires to think outside the box at times to really enhance the different ways kids might learn, but it doesn't have to be totally different from what you have done in the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mcushing in the fact that preassessing especially with science content is critical because we have so many gaps that can occur and it is so easy to assume that the kids got the content and lab experiences in the younger grades. The open ended questions that he refers to are totally awesome and can be used to gain insight in many misconceptions kids have about science, math and reading as well. Try some!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the confusion, but I have the 1st edition so my page numbers are different. This quote is from the section titled PRODUCTS.
ReplyDeleteIn trying to be more flexible and avoid letting the schedule dictate learning, I allowed 2 hard working, meticulous, detail oriented students (i.e. zero awareness of time limits), allow their last projects (products) serve as their unit assessment grade also. This was not an easy choice to make and I had to be creative about how I explained why I did this, but, after reading this section, I feel confident that I made an educationally sound choice.
Assessment can be scary and a beast for both students and teachers. However, being organized and learning ways to fit this into everyday lessons is key. For instance, the book talks about using several different forms of assessment: oral exam, projects, menus of activities, short answer essay, interest survey, quiz, etc. On page 150, the author talks about "authentic assessment" and that "traditional end assessments...should by no means be used exclusively." As instructors, we know that students need to be learning conceptually. The way to do this is figure out products that teach concepts while providing motivation based on learning style, interest, and ability. My classroom has changed in a dramatic way this semester as we have moved into menu or tic-tac-toe style activities. The students are engaged at all ability levels, and they enjoy learning. It has been incredible! Of course, I am still figuring this out and it continues to be challenging but rewarding.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on Mcushing's thoughts on preassessment challenges: I'd like to say that a few of us have been experimenting with a website called www.quia.com. This website makes creating quizzes, tests, essays, activities much easier! The program grades them, formats quickly, organizes results instantly, gives students instant feedback, and also allows students to retest. This has really helped the assessment beast in my classroom be less intimidating, more organized, and much more doable. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what sharon g said about thinking outside the box. I think that it is so important to not limit our students to just one way of doing something. Sometimes if we do not get the desired results on an activity or task we scratch our heads and think that the students "didn't get it", but rather if we let them express themselves in a creative way that meets their learning style then the success will show and we are able to see what the students have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteRE: elise williams
ReplyDeleteYou said, "The way to do this is figure out products that teach concepts while providing motivation based on learning style, interest, and ability." I, too, have been applying the concepts/practices in this book and that has been a huge obstacle. It is fun at times, but it seems that is not very fun when I am trying to accommodate interests outside of my comfort zone. Some of my kids have so much more skill and knowledge than I do or would want to have in Math and Science, and I feel a bit guilty when project choices that address this skill set are not as interesting and creative as others.
I have increased my use of Venn diagrams, looking for opportunities to give more circle comparisons for GT students. I have assessed along the way, both pre and during and after...and watched for those students who have a handle on the info and need differentiation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Corrin who talked about the value of the DAP tool. I don't understand it fully, but want to use it and hope to better understand it as I go.
ReplyDeleteRight now it we are in the heart of TAKS season and so a lot of our kids are receiving TAKS practice and intervention and a lot of strategy work. I know my GT kids are suffering and don't need it the way some others do. Therefore, in my planning, I have tried to fit in more real-world activities that still cover the concepts in order to make sure they master them, without being paper and penned out.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Patricet's comment: I like the idea of putting together a team on campus (we work on the same one).
ReplyDeleteI really like Patty's response about allowing the students to tell what they already know about a counseling concept, and then building on that. I really need to focus on doing the preassessment part better!
ReplyDeleteIf instruction is to be a response to assessment (pg 165), then my goal needs to be to work on preassessment. Recently, I’ve experienced with product assessment, specifically sculptures and trading cards. The students really enjoyed sharing the products with one another, as well as their parents—who were all “interested in the content of the product as well as the product itself.” (pg151) As the authors said, though, I realized that I needed to provide more information regarding the specific characteristics of the product (sculpture) itself.
ReplyDelete