Week 3-importance of informal assessment

Informal assessments provide the teacher with a broader sense of where the student is holding as opposed to taking a formal test. Often times students can prepare for a formal test, succeed, then forget all of the information. Informal assessments test the children in a more natural environment and sees what the child really knows, and nothing else. The skills that the child displays during an informal assessment is far more accurate than that of a formal one.

Week 3-6 Short Videos

What surprised or interested you?

What did you find that affirmed what you already knew or had been doing?

Which segments offered you a new approach or idea?

What new questions do you have?

After watching the video, do you think differently about your own practices? About the students you teach? About how young students develop literacy?

 

What interested me about the video was the children's enthusiasm about the activity. The teacher managed to hold on to her students' attention while imparting an important lesson.

 

I always knew that review and testing were the keys to success, but this video really confirmed it. The more students repeat things the better they remember them and the higher they score on assessments.

 

The informal assessments were an eye opener. Usually when one envisions a test he thinks of a desk, a quiet room, a pencil and answer bubbles. This method however was more relaxed and real.

 

New questions that I have is how much assessment is considered too much? In addition, are the same assessments good for every child and every type of reading?

 

After watching the video I do see myself having a more active role with my students. My students were not as diverse as shown in the video, yet their differences do impact their learning. Also it is important to note that all students are capable of reading, they just need the proper guidelines.

week 2-video reflection

After watching the video it struck me that happy interactive classrooms are not only fun to be in, but also promote the most learning. In the video, the teacher managed to incorporate so many standards into a single lesson. Students practiced reading, relating what they read to communication and writing. The variety and direction of the lesson was evident and affective.

week 2, lesson plan critique

After reading the lesson plan posted by Carolyn Wilhelm, I was impressed by how thorough she was in her planning. She really thought through every last detail and made clear learning objectives that she was determined to meet. My only critique is that Carolyn intended this lesson to be for students in grades k-2. Having taught and assisted in these grades I know that children at this age need specific prompts to contribute to a class discussion. I feel that she left the discussion to open for the children to really contribute and that most of the talking and discovering will be done through the teacher. I liked how she used clear steps to explain her point, and hopefully her students will gain a lot from her lesson.