In these modules, readers learn about the concepts of different kinds of assessments. First, the definition of an assessment is the process of obtaining information to be used for making decisions about curricula, students, programs and educational policy. The term assessment also encompasses the actual tools, the tests, papers or projects, used to gather the information. There are different types of assessments that the chapter discusses. Formal assessments are typically a preplanned, systematic attempt to discover what students have learned. These assessments are announced ahead of time to give students time to prepare and study. Informal assessments are spontaneous, day-to-day observations of how students behave and perform in class. These assessments include listening, or observing students' interactions. Formative assessments helps both the teacher and the student to determine progress, check for understanding and make adjustments to improve students' learning while it is still in progress. The teacher has a large effect on if formative assessments help students because the teacher must use the date to help the needs of the student and become a positive effect. Summative assessments help the teacher evaluate students' progress as well as the effectiveness of instructional methods at the end of a unit or grading period. These normally include written documentation, like papers or quizzes based on scores. Each of these assessments are graded differently, either in a norm-referenced letter grades, or growth based grading. Report cards, and parent teacher communication have effects on students grades, and can encourage positive effects if a teacher works well to communicate to a parent the needs for a child top improve.
Performance assessment is any form of assessment that requires students to carry out an activity or develop a product in order to demonstrate skill or knowledge. Evaluations of these assessments include performance checks, and watching arm movements on how to throw the football properly or how to use a drill press and operate the machinery safely. The three major types of performance assessments are projects, portfolios, and presentations. Teachers use methods like checklists, rating scales, and rubrics to systematically evaluate student performance.
A question I have from these modules deals with figure 28.2, the Cognitive Categories on page 513. I want to understand this figure more, and see how a teacher can use this to help teach in the classroom. What does it mean as each circle expands?
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Formative
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alFormal
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These are planned activities. They are used to show understanding. An in class assignment over last nights reading.
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These are planned and used at the end of unit. Used to see if a whole unit is understood
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Informal
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Unplanned. These are used also for understanding but they aren't planned. A pop quiz.
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Unplanned - used at end of unit. This would be spontaneous project done to demonstrate learning
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A person can not tell whether an assessment is formative or summative just by looking at it. The way one would know is by seeing if is at the end of a unit or not. A quiz can both be formative and summative. If a teacher checks the quiz for understanding and works to re teach the specific parts that the student misses, it is a formative quiz. If the quiz is used to check their understanding at the end of a unit and used to see what the student learned, than the quiz is summative.
My interpretation of this figure is that each section of the circle represents a part of Bloom's Taxonomy. When the parts of the circle expand, the student is improving in that part of Bloom's Taxonomy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashley that the figure represents the Bloom's Taxonomy. I believe the middle circle represents activities and the farthest circle represents products. From my understanding, a teacher can use this in the classroom by picking a topic, an activity, and a product. For example, if a teacher picks "analyze", then she may pick the activity "classify the numerical information....by making a graph". The graph is the product and the classifying is the activity.
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas here. I noted that in your table, you define informal as 'unplanned'. This is one way of thinking about it, but you might also imagine an assessment that is intentionally communicated as informal. Having a short discussion about material is a really valuable way for a teacher to assess' student learning, but it feels like an informal conversation to students, so they may be more willing to take risks, be wrong, or it may lower their anxiety slightly. You can always plan something to be presented as informal.
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