Powell 1 Whitney Powell September 22, 2013 Assessment Reflection Previous to entering the Science Education program at Virginia

Tech, I thought assessments were tests, quizzes, and Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. However, I quickly learned that assessment encompasses so much more. Assessments give daily opportunities and interactions for teachers to collect observations and information to alter teaching to improve learning in the future. This approach to assessment addresses the idea of assessment for learning not the traditional assessment of learning. Assessment of learning uses high-stakes testing to determine if students have reached a predetermined level of learning. Assessment for learning uses assessment to help students learn, rather than judging their knowledge. There are two forms of assessment, formative and summative. Formative assessment monitors student learning that provides ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve teaching. Summative assessments evaluate student learning at the end of a unit or class by comparing it to standards and benchmarks. Assessment should not only be used to test learning but should enhance learning. Paul Black distinguishes three main purposes of assessment, accountability, certification, and learning, (2003). Accountability ensures that standards are being met by the majority of students through standardized testing. Certification affects the individual student, their parents, and those who determine a students future such as colleges and future employers. Learning as a purpose of assessment is to use both formative and summative assessments to collect evidence and evaluation to enhance learning in the future. Teachers should use results from chapter quizzes and tests to change lesson plans

Powell 2 for the next unit. In addition, teachers should use feedback from class dialogue to instantly direct learning. Part of implementing assessment for learning includes setting clear learning goals for students. Setting comprehensible goals allows students to know exactly what they should be learning and how they will meet the goals. In addition, I cannot just set goals at the beginning of the semester and see if we met them by the end. I need to constantly remind my students of the learning goals, and modify them as necessary. The role of assessment in the classroom is to utilize all types of assessment for different types of learners. Multiple forms of assessment need to be present so teachers and students can evaluate which assessments work best for a particular unit or lesson. Teachers need use students feedback to alter current lessons and direct learning for the following classes. The most crucial form of assessment occurs every day in the classroom through students answering and asking questions, dialogue, and overall moral of the classroom. In addition, teachers can gather information from worksheets, homework, lab exercises, and exams. Assessments like this allow teachers to mold instruction day to day without having to wait until the end of the year after standardized testing or until the end of the unit. The goal of learning is no longer to find out the right answer and move on, assessment for learning encourages teachers to help their students think through learning. Assessment should empower students, not tear them down. For years, grades and test scores have determined a students wealth of knowledge, thus, as teachers we have an uphill battle to fight for our students to think differently. As a teacher, I am responsible for effectively implementing multiple types of assessments and using the feedback generated

Powell 3 to aid future instruction. Student engagement is crucial for assessment for learning and it my responsibility as a teacher to encourage open-conversation. It is my responsibility to build rapport with my students so they feel comfortable giving theories and asking questions in class. As a teacher, students should feel welcomed and excited to enter my classroom each day. I need to create a relationship with each student and have students interact with other students within the class. Students will be expected to listen and respect both myself and other students in the classroom. In addition, as a science teacher it is especially important to teach my students to learn through observation and exploration. Through open conversation and dialogue, the teacher is no longer the center of instruction but students take responsibility for their own learning. As a teacher, I cannot label student theories as right and wrong, but must encourage students to discover answers on their own. I hope to install in every student that many times they can learn more from being wrong than simply knowing the correct answer. Within my classroom, I will create an environment that is community-centered, knowledge-centered, and above all learner-centered so students believe they can succeed and help one another do so. To implement this, I need to take the time to create inquirybased lessons so my students are forced to become involved and responsible for their own learning. Furthermore, incorporating lesson plans that are inquiry-based require students to apply knowledge and learning to a particular assignment to fulfill understanding. Students must learn to self-assess themselves. Students can do this by evaluating what they understand, what they dont understand, and how they can use what they do understand to help them learn what they dont understand. A vital part of helping students learn to selfassess is giving descriptive feedback. Students need to be able to look back and thoroughly

Powell 4 reflect on their work to advance in the future. Initially I need to give students structure and ample opportunities to self-assess. Over time students will learn to naturally self-assess without encouragement from the teacher. Peer assessment is also important for learning. Collaboration between students encourages sharing of ideas that can promote new ways of thinking. However, students should take responsibility in these settings for their own learning. Students will be expected to use this time productively and not as social hour. I want to use the gradual release of responsibility model, where I structure the classroom a lot at the beginning of the semester and steadily my students take more responsibility for their own learning. Students need to feel responsible for their own understanding and knowledge. As a teacher, when students question why they received a particular grade on a paper, I need to turn the question on them by asking, Why do you think you earned this grade? To effectively implement the gradual release of responsibility, my classroom needs to be engaging, interactive, and informal. For my classroom to be informal, I have to interact with the students so they want to take charge of their learning. As a teacher it is not my job to lecture, I need to be a facilitator that provides resources that will provoke discussion. Teachers need to create lesson plans that students can find ownership and create their own observations, theories, and beliefs about science. As a teacher, I need to cultivate the use of daily formative assessments through asking questions, discussion, and activity sheets. Activity sheets allow all students to document observations, solve problems, and provide opportunities for students to discover their own ideas about the task at hand. Formative assessments are a direct flow of learning; they allow students to attend to what is most important to each individual.

Powell 5 After five short weeks in this class, my entire theory behind assessment has changed. Assessments are not tests and they should not be feared. Assessments should support and value student learning each day in the classroom. Teachers need to create and build rapport with students to create a partnership where both students and the teacher are responsible for understanding and knowledge. Teachers should make assessment interesting, engaging, and inquiry-based so students learn to enjoy learning not fear testing.

Powell 6 References Black, P. (2003). The importance of everyday assessment. In J. Atkin & J. Coffey (Eds.), Everyday assessment in the science classroom (1-11). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.