Understanding the benefits of assessment is a crucial part of being a teacher. To be honest as a student still studying to become a professional educator, I was turned off by assessments. As someone who struggles with assessments particularly formal, summative exams, I was very against using assessments in my future classroom. I had a very negative approach towards assessments. After this class my thoughts about assessments changed. First, I have learned that making assessments as authentic as possible, can make a worlds difference (Mindes & Jung, 2015). For young children in a child care facility this would be in the form of observations (Mindes & Jung, 2015). Observations is how we gather information to build relationships and support development in the classroom (Harewood, 2018). For older children I have learned that they do not have to be boring long tests, but it can be in the form of drawing pictures or explaining 3D diagrams made by the children. I have also learned that assessments are the foundation of the classroom. Through observations a teacher is able to see what objectives/goals are met and which need to be worked on. Assessments are like the treasure maps to the classroom. They help decide what the next steps are for each child. During class we have learned different functions of assessment, which are as followed: Screening, Diagnosis, Assessing, Monitoring, and Evaluation (Harewood, 2018). These are all components of assessment that help us further the classroom environment, and help teachers meet the needs of each students. I have two pieces of evidence that support my learning towards this objective. The first is an essay written in class persuading the public how assessments are important. This assessment shows my knowledge about assessments, and also proves that I did in fact have a change in heart about assessments as a whole. In the assessment I give reasons why they are so important, and I also explain the types of assessment for example, formal assessments. The next piece of evidence I have is my teacher interview with Mrs. Diaz. This interview gave me a teacher’s perspective on what assessments are, how they are used, and why they are so important. It is through this assignment that I learned what Core Advantage is (a type of assessment). This is the kind of assessment that opened up my thoughts towards assessment. This assessment focuses on observations and specifically focusing on each child and their needs. I felt good about this assessment because it is through observation, so it is authentic and children do not feel pressured during their day at school. I was also able to learn how time consuming these assessments are and as a teacher you have to build time into your schedule to make sure assessments are accomplished. Lastly, I learned how important it is to build relationships with families the instant you welcome a new child to your classroom. This is so that when the time comes it is easy to communicate to families because trust is established. Both of these assignments have helped my understanding of assessments grow and develop in depth.
Evidence:
leinwand_fleischmann_formal_assessment_debate.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
hdfs_interviews_leinwand_fleischmann.docx | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | docx |