But Are They Learning?
Informal AssessmentsFiguring out if and what my students are learning is a constant process. To that end, I have employed a number of strategies to check in on their learning and inform my instruction through my two years in the classroom. Frequently in Algebra, though often enough in Government/Economics, students will each receive a white board to put up answers to various questions. This takes on multiple varieties of activity, everything from review games to simple quick checks. Some of my favorite ways to use white boards include:
Last Man Standing: Students answer questions individually on whiteboards and stand when they have an answer. Any incorrect answers (and the last student to stand) are then "out." The winner is the last student standing in the game! All students receive a paper to answer the questions on, even after they are out. Wager Game: Broken into groups, students play a prolonged series of "Final Jeopardy!" type questions, choosing a category, betting an amount based on that category (each team starts at 1,000), and answering the question. Correct answers result in points added; incorrect answers result in points deducted. The team with the most points at the end wins. Teams that lose all of their points may start over again with 100 points. Trashketball: A perennial favorite - teams receive opportunities for bonus shots if they answer questions correctly. The team with the most points wins! Differentiated White Boards: Not a game, but a quick check way to do independent practice, whereby each student has the same set of questions, and all students start on #1. As students finish, they hold up their whiteboard to be checked and the teacher gives them the next number to work on. Students are carefully assigned an order through the numbers such that each student is challenged; the teacher then keeps track of which numbers need more practice! |
I also like to get my students up and moving as often as possible! Students complete questions and other tasks by circulating around the room with frequency. This "musical" style of doing work is usually welcome after a few initial groans from my sleepers. I split up review activities and either put them in envelopes along the walls or on different work station desks. Students are limited in the amount of time they spend at any one spot by a timer, and the classroom flows with the motion of their work.
Finally, exit tickets are a wonderful method that I still use, long after my first summer, to gauge student learning during a lesson and help inform the next day's work, particularly the bell ringer, as that is our main time for review. |
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Formal AssessmentsMany of my students are terrified of tests. The high stakes culture of state tests, coupled with below-grade-level reading abilities, have created students that are wary of reading and writing their way to success under test conditions. Quite frankly, not all of my students are good test takers, either. Whether it is the stress or some other factor, there are students who, despite being able to answer questions in class or complete a performance-based tasks, cannot pass a test on the first try. So while I certainly give quizzes and tests to assess learning (more so last year in Algebra I), I have started to include much more project-based learning in my classroom this year, with posters, presentations, and other means of assessment being utilized. It is mandatory that my students complete a final exam each semester, so we practice with smaller exams throughout the year. However, because finals are 15% of the semester grade, I try to cushion the individual quarter grades with as many projects as possible--they make more sense for my students!
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