Assessing Students And Evaluating Learning. Blog 4

After reading this chapter of the handout, I have gained so much knowledge on how to access and evaluate my future students learning. I really loved how this chapter explains the many options and ways there are to access student learning when it comes to reading literature. One thing I really dislike as a student is being tested on specific details of a story rather then analyzing the story and being able to actually enjoy the story. I remember in my English classes in high school I could careless about what I was reading all I cared about was being able to recall specific information that I thought would be on the test. I really didn’t learn anything from just being able to acquire facts about the story. Since I have taken my English courses and have been assessed in many ways I believe that I learn far more by critically thinking about each piece of literature I have covered.  I also believe that assessing students using journals, blogs, and portfolio’s are great ways that the article mentions in evaluating students. I also agree with the fact that teacher feedback is crucial for student learning. I have become a much better writer because of feedback from many of my professors at Eastern. I will definitely be giving constructive feedback to my future students so they improve in their learning. This article explains many ways to give feedback but the ones that stand out to me are sticky not annotations, and highlighting parts of their writing. This chapter also answered questions I had about how to access a class discussion. I have found that I learn so much more from my peers and find it very intriguing to hear other interpretations of the same pieces of literature. As a teacher I will have to be the facilitator of class discussions. This chapter explains a rubric type of description on a scale from 5 to 1. It explains that students can be assessed based on participation, interpretation, restating others interpretations, asking questions to the group, linking resources to the text, and adopting critical lenses. All in all I really enjoyed this article and will definitely be referring back to this source for great ideas.

Assessment Template Blog 3

As I began to read this document, I realized that so many students today are not taught how to read properly. I wish I had taught how to read rhetorically which includes pre-read, read, post read.  Reading Rhetorically means to not only focus on what the text says but also the purpose it serves, intentions of the author, and the effects the reading has on the audience. In today’s age I think students are so focused on finishing the book to be done and do not take the time to understand the importance of pre-reading. I know I am guilty of lacking in the pre-reading department and I think I would have a better understanding of the book by pre-reading then just jumping straight into it. I really liked some of the bullet points that list different ways to engage students to pre-read. I think by asking students to make connections to their personal world and to the text is probably the most intriguing for students. This skill will allow students to actually get excited about the reading and will hopefully engage them in their reading.  After these steps it is so important to connect reading to writing. I believe by doing this with students it kills two birds with one stone. I also believe that students will grasp what their read more if they write about what they have read. I also really liked how this article describes post reading, which I happen to not excel in as well. I believe that students will retain the text much more efficiently. Summarizing allows students to analyze the meaning behind the text. Having a discussion about the text as a whole class is another way to summarize and respond to fellow classmates thoughts. All in this entire document was very intriguing to me as a future teacher. I know that many students today are not being taught how to read properly. It is my goal to absorb as much information and learn ways I can prevent students to continue bad habits in regards to reading.

English Language Arts Common Core State Standards

After reading the Common Core State Standards particular for reading I was amazed at what I read. I learned that over the last half of a century k-12 students have declined in sophistication and little attention has been paid to the students reading ability of reading complex texts. Due to this decline in the reading portion of education many high school graduates really suffer with the high expectations at the college reading level. I also found that reading CCSS are measured in three parts. 1. Qualitative dimensions of text complexity, 2. Quantitative dimensions of text complexity and 3. Reader and Task Considerations.  Levels of meaning are important in making sure the text complexity is appropriate for each grades standard. CCSS states that literary texts with a single meaning are easier to read that literary texts with multiple levels of meaning. Satire literature revolves around an underlying message, which is in contradiction with the author’s literal message. Similarly, informational texts with implicit or hidden messages are usually harder to read than texts that explicitly state the purpose. Structure is also another way to decipher the level of complexity in literary texts. According to CCSS low complexity literary texts relate events in chronological order while complex literary texts frequently use flashbacks, flash-forwards, and other manipulations of time and sequence.

Discussion As A Way Of Thinking

After reading Stephen Brookfield’s Discussion As A Way Of Teaching, I gained great insight of how to effectively use discussions in my future classroom. The Circle of voices discussion technique really intrigued me. I like this technique because it always students of all personalities the chance to voice their opinion without being put on the spot. This concept also allows students to think inside the minds of their classmates. In the lager discussion, students are encouraged not to elaborate about their own ideas but on something they thought was important explained by their peer in the circle of 5. I had never heard of conversational roles until reading this document. I thought that this would be a great idea to use in my future classroom. I think it is a great way to get all students involved and allows them to focus on one task at hand. This also allows each student to actively listen and learn from their classmates who a assigned a different role for the discussion. Because I have always been the student who does not care to share my thoughts frequently, I thought the hatful of quotes is a great idea.  Each student is expected to share their thoughts but this activity is designed to be stress free and allows students to share at their leisure.  The speech policy was probably my favorite thing I took from this document. I actually think it would be awesome to make a copy of the teacher’s statement and hang it in my classroom. I believe if a student wants to share their thoughts with the entire group that is wonderful and I would commend them for doing so. On the other hand, I was the student who would get anxiety knowing I had to share my thoughts or give a speech. As a teacher I want my students to feel confident enough to share their thoughts and if they aren’t I want them to know that I do not judge or grade them for not sharing.