1. A method of understanding prior-knowledge of students is using the K-W-L, or the Know-Wonder-Learn method which we learned in prior chapters. This method establishes the prior knowledge of the students in the classroom, what they are striving to learn through the projects and lesson, and what they ultimately learn in the end. This is a good way to judge the level of the students’ knowledge prior to starting a project, as we know that students will not all be on the same level as there is variation in the classroom.
2. In this chapter, we learned a new method of assessing prior and current knowledge of students, called establishing “anchors.” This method gives the teacher an idea of where the student’s progress is before, and during the project process. This is used by students writing about their learning journey as it is stated in the chapter. This tells if the student is struggling compared to other students or if they are putting in a good amount of work into the project itself.
3. There are several ways in this chapter that gives pre-service teachers ideas for assessment of students during a project. These were, traditional rubrics, online grade books, a deeper look into a grade book (non-traditional) and into traditional books, typical tests with generic answers, and bringing in professionals (that specialize in their project criteria) to give students feedback and gradings, as well as submitting their works into a competition or publication which gives the students incentive to do a great job. My favorite idea of assessment of projects in this chapter was the idea of bringing in professionals. The students in that classroom drew pictures that illustrated their class’ book being read at the time. The graphic designers were brought in and explained to the students in detail about their jobs, as well as gave feedback and grading on the students’ work. This gave students a real-world perspective on their in-class work, giving them ideas for their future careers.
4. The concepts in this chapter relate to our Gardening the classroom project because of the assessment process. We needed to find ways to assess our lesson plans as well as our overall project. With all of these ideas, we can use the online grade book idea to give immediate feedback to students and parents that also give them grading on specifics such as content, communication, work ethic, and critical thinking, as stated in the chapter which is a very useful tool to students, teachers and parents. Relating this to my favorite assessment idea as stated before, I could bring professional gardeners from a plant store to discuss with students the progress of their plant growth and areas for improvement, as well as a banker that could provide insight to students when they are in the exchange of money at the end of their project, selling their goods to the market. These give students real-life opportunities that also give project assessment.
Marleigh, I think you did a really good job explaining all of the content that was in this chapter through this reflection. It is obvious you really absorbed all of the information seeing as how detailed your descriptions turned out. I really liked how you talked about incorporating all of this information into your groups overall project. I also really enjoyed the idea of bringing gardeners into the classroom to talk with the students. Great ideas, and a great reflection!
ReplyDeleteYour reflection was really well written. I really liked your answer about why we want to establish anchors. This is a great way to asses prior and current knowledge of each individual student. This also allows you to see how each student is doing during the project and if they are struggling and may need additional help or guidance. Also i liked how you related it back to your project with using online grade books to get immediate feedback and bringing in professionals to discus the progress of plant growth and bringing in bankers to talk about exchange in money. You have a lot of good ideas.
ReplyDeleteMarleigh, your reflection really does a good job at covering all the information that was given in the chapter. I really enjoyed all your answers because they were explained well and you elaborated well. I enjoyed your answer to question number two and your description of the assessing method called establishing "anchors" although while reading it in the chapter made sense, your reflection brought a better understanding to mind. Your reflection was great, keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI thought your reflection was well done and summarized the chapter well. Your response to how the concepts in this chapter could relate to your topic was very detailed and included many good ideas. I liked your idea of consulting experts to assess students on what they are doing well in and what they could better. I also liked how you mentioned using the online grade book that was mentioned in the chapter.
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