I felt very intimidated when I began this class.

The word assessment brings

about feelings of discomfort. It is important to remember that learning takes place
one building block at a time and this course was no different. As I progressed onto
the assessment design I was reminded that Common Core Assessment was already a
part of my curriculum, but I was not using it to its full potential. In designing the
assessment with my team, I realized that the goal wasnt to just finish the test with
the correct answers, but to achieve mastery with an intelligent dialogue along with
way. Out team designed an assessment piece that built upon the knowledge of the
previous gradespan. Each component took a story problem and then extended the
questions to different achievement levels across the gradespans. In hindsight, I
should have used each assessment piece across the grade levels to dialogue with the
Algebra 1 students that I interacted with. I would have liked to see how they would
have solved each problem, step by step.
For the error analysis piece(Bamberger,Oberdorf,Schultz-Ferrell,2010), I
chose the concept of addition and subtraction and how they relate to one another. A
common error that my First Graders have had in the past is that they do not
understand the concept of inverse operation. I used this as a focus to help them
overcome this obstacle. The Common Core Math Curriculum is new to me this year
and I am still learning all the elements. I did note that the teachers manual has a
section on error intervention for each lesson. Although emphasizing inverse
operations was important, I also should have used the curriculums intervention
strategies too. It suggested that if students reversed the order of a number sentence,
ask them what would they find if they added the numbers together, and then have
them draw a comparison picture to solve the problem. I also think that I should
refer to the error intervention each day as I begin the new lesson. In the future my
goal should be mastery of each concept as opposed to filling out each blank.
In evaluating the assessment given for the addition/subtraction topic, the
performance assessment portion had several steps to it. A few of the teachers from
Sierra Middle School came over to teach the K-3 grades for their assignment. I had
them use the same assessment and it was interesting to see their perspective on it.
Even though it was a paper assessment, one of the instructors used actual blocks for
the question. The use of blocks enhanced the students understanding. Although I use
manipulatives regularly, I dont normally use them on assessments. Another
personal goal would be to work the performance task assessments prior to
administering the test so that I can see what possible errors might occur and help
present it in a meaningful way.
An additional piece of helpful information was from the assessment data
assignment. As I examined the information, I noticed that the majority of my
parents educational level was in the middle range, meaning they have some college
education. This was also true on the district level. I tend to focus my instruction to
the students in the middle range as I have 30 children. Targeting instruction for
each level is a challenge. Another goal for me will be to design instruction to reach
the lower and upper level students through small groups. My students are already
grouped according to abilities for their reading levels and I hope to use this to their
advantage for the math groups too.
In conclusion, as I examine learning trajectories (Confrey,
Maloney,Nguyen,2011)for elementary grades, I am reminded of the importance of
foundational skills. Before students can progress onto the next math concept, they
must have an understanding of the skill needed to progress to the next level.
Although I literally use building blocks in my classroom at times, the necessity of
using building blocks in my instruction should always be in the forefront of my
mind. I always want to remember that my students need those basic skills in order
to be successful in their own mathematical practice.