Earlier this quarter I posed a question
for myself on how I would “work the gap” between what I currently knew about
teaching children and what I hoped to learn this quarter. I wrote:
·
“How can I take the first step
toward assessing student understanding of a lesson and accommodating for
individual learning levels? How do I know where a child has learned something?”
Throughout the quarter I have posted stories about assessment
and teaching strategies in my second grade dyad classroom. I have learned several skills, especially in
the area of literacy, which I can now use to assess student understanding of a
concept or a lesson. On October 8th
I wrote: “Knowing what questions to ask to illicit comprehension of vocabulary
and storyline has given me some great tricks to keep in my back pocket.” Second graders are learning about accuracy,
fluency, comprehension, visualization, character change, and vocabulary when
reading. These lessons are applied to
their writing as well. When I work
individually with students we often practice reading fluency in one of their
personal books. To assess their
understanding of visualization, for example, I may ask:
·
When you were reading this did
you get any pictures in your head? Did
those pictures help you to understand the story?
In a small group or large group, I have learned the
value of “wait time” as well. The second
graders in this classroom are eager to share when a question is asked, but a
raised hand does not imply a well thought out answer. Allowing the class thirty seconds to think
about their answer is helpful for the student and teacher assessment. When teaching my read aloud lesson I did not
provide enough wait time. I also cut
short the “turn and talk” partner conversations because I was eager to talk as
a whole group. In the future I can see
that giving students a longer amount of time lets them think through their
answers.
When a student responds it is important
to ask: “How do you know that?” or “Tell me more”. This asks students to not only justify their answers,
but allows the instructor to better understand student comprehension. It is also clear to me that students have a
language of their own, and they can explain concepts to each other sometimes
better than an adult can. Observing
their partner work and asking questions can aid in assessment. In my blog post on October 14th I
discuss my experience reading about the sun with two seven year old girls. At several points during our lesson the
girls, who had never heard about the water cycle, attempted to explain the
rotation of the earth or the water cycle to each other. Listening to their explanations and
justifications provided me with enough information about their
comprehension. They were not always
accurate in detail, so I would know to interject and illustrate the concept again. However, there was value in the two girls
using each other as a resource. The
teacher is not the only “giver of knowledge”!
Working in small groups, or individually, is furthermore an appropriate
way to accommodate for different rates of learning and comprehension.
My work in literacy with second graders
this quarter has demonstrated that learning is not always best assessed by a
paper test. When working individually,
in small groups, and whole group the instructor is better able to ask relevant questions
and acquire a more meaningful assessment of learning. Students also participate in running records,
reader’s theater, and essay writing to demonstrate their growing literacy
skills. Combined with course work this
quarter, I feel better prepared to assess student understanding in literacy as
well as their learning in the classroom.
