OLLIE Iowa

This is happening some places. It usually takes a district large enough to have PD specialists and / or a smaller district with the right kind of administration. It makes the Moodle option even more relevant.

and...is there already and assessment in place that give you this information? Do I need to duplicate? Not only is the why important, but also the what-does it get to what I need to know for future instruction?

Your last statement is very importatn, Barb! That question should be asked prior to giving each assessment--how will this help my students and how will this help me to change my instruction to help my students.

I hadn't seen LT' broken down this way before.

Neither have I seen this breakdown! Worth sharing with teachers.

I love this! What an easy, direct guide to clarifying learning targets!

Stiggins actually has 5 targets, which includes dispositional targets

It's always about working smarter, not harder and this leads us toward that.

I agree--and I really like this chart! It really helped to enhance my understanding of this information.

The chart is very helpful. I like how it shows that perfomance assessments aren't always the best, it depends on what you are assessing. I am glad selected response is still acceptable for knowledge mastery.

I am always looking for "filters" that I can use when developing a course. This is a great filter when reviewing the assessments used in the course.

I am going to play devil's advocate here.....how can we motivate students to take action in order to promote learning if that is not within their goals? I agree that descriptive feedback linked to targets will give more meaning to the assessment, but in all reality, don't we often deal with students who can't see the reason for the writing?

Why do you think that is? How many K-2 students are not excited about coming to school and learning? What happens that kills thier love and devotion to learning?

Do you see this attitude of "this doesn't fit my goals/needs" as more prevalent at the secondary level or the elementary level? I know I have seen this with adult learners until they understand they tune to WII-FM (What In It For Me?). Once they do, then the learning "takes off" like gangbusters when provided the specific type of feedback described here.

I've seen this many times - the assessment doesn't fit the learning expectations.

Our distirct is really focused on SES and IEP students since that is where our lowest ITED scores are.

We would have to add African-American in our district in addition to SES and IEP.

Our department had to create a math assessment that would test what the average 10th grader should know. Then we were told the test should be about what all 10th graders should know. We have spent countless hours debating, rewriting and trying to come up with methods on how to help our students that are not proficient on the test.

Today on the radio, I hear Jason Glass say that all 11th graders need to take the ACT and the state needs to help pay for this. I don't think I agree with adding another required assessment for our students...I do agree we need to provide a rigorous curriculum for our secondary students, but do they need to demonstrate their knowledge by taking the ACT??

In response to Deena, I have struggled as the leader of the curriculum and assesment efforts on WHAT to ask people to do. I have hesitated developing any local assessments due to the movement from local standards...to Iowa Core and not the common core. Hope we have stopped changing because up to now it has been a moving target!

This is the first time I have actually seen a math example when discussing assessment. Usually the examples I see are for english or social studies.

knowledge targets work pretty well in mathematics!

This is an area that I am currently working on. I am trying to come up with more projects so that students can apply what they are learning.

When I took my first college stat class, I could follow the directions just fine and get the right answer, but I had no idea why we were using the particular statistic or what it actually meant. When I asked my stat lab instructor, he looked up my grade and said, "What do you care, you're getting an A." I cared because I wanted to know how to use the stuff, not just get through the class!

This paragraph makes a distinction between decision makers that we might forget when edited our assessments. There is a definite difference in level and approach between classroom and school or community assessments.

Agreed. I think not recognizing that distinction can lead to misuse of the data. For example, a school or community use of classroom level data when they don't know the circumstances or environment under which the data is collected can lead to some inappropriate conclusions.

Although time consuming, the importance of curriculum maps becomes clear when writing essential questions and revisiting the teaching strategies we use to improve student learning.

This is our hope as educators. I truly hope that the valuable time spent testing will return dividends.

I find the information gathered to be very useful to my teaching, and to the students and parents.

Time involved is major...classroom teachers will tell you it is very labor intensive.

Seems like the public would say this isn't true. They would believe that there was no accountability before NCLB.

At muy school our science assessment is of this variety with both extended response and multiple choice answers for teh questions asked.

I agree that a variety should be used in accurate assessment. Students respond differently to different assesment methods. Some students have a very anxious response to timed tests, or written tests, but may do fine in showing their knowledge on multiple choice or matching.

Best parent teacher conference I ever attended was a student-led one for my 5th grader. Each student built their portfolio and was in charge of explaning it to their parents. Most honesty and responsibility I've ever seen in kids!

I have been to the same kind of Open House led by students in the class. It really gives the students ownership to what happens in that classroom.

When we do our annual assessment for 4th grade artists effort is made to provide clear instructions and visuals, with the same materials available to all teachers. The other factors that enter into a student's performance vary widely. Some teachers deliver the test in their own art room, others in the classroom because they teach there. There are many factors that affect performance.

i would assume this would mean that information should be shared in user-friendly language for parents and students, and be shared in a timely fashion.

I think an instructor of a course that was completely online could find him/herself overwhelmed with the amount of communication taking place. It takes time to navigate around, read everyone's posts on each topic, and comment, all while working to be both professional and approachable. In a face-to-face class, you can visually monitor how long it's going to take the instructor to respond to you. (How many other hands are in the air? How many people are lined up?) The instructor can also view facial expressions and body language to determine if his/her students are "getting it" and buying in. It seems like this element, in an online course, would have to be done entirely by computer interactions. I'd be completely overwhelmed if I had to teach a course completely online!

It is challenging at times. I've had a few of you call me, if you have a Moodle problem. I also agree that you need to be very clear when you communicate online because you don't see those facial expressions and body language. You also have to be careful about joking with people online, because again you don't see facial expressions, body language and hear tone of voice.

This is where I think online learning can really be utilized to the benefit of every student. Online learning can be personalized for each student's need.

I think that Moodle is great for providing that immediate feedback. It lets students know if they are on the right track!

I think collaboration and group work is great for students in preparing them for life after high school if done correctly. Too often I see groupwork done where one or two students do the majority of the work while other students do little or nothing. Online classes can can either help or hurt group projects depending on how they are set up and the work required by each individual student.

I think more teachers would add an online component to their classes if they felt more comfortable. I was hoping my school district would choose one online platform (Moodle for example) and then train all of our staff to create pages. Some teachers have created their own websites but it would be much easier for the students if all teachers had the same online set up for their classes.

I completely agree with having all teachers use the same website. It seems easiest, most cost-efficient, and just smart, best practice for a district to do that. Good call!

I too agree--and my district is trying to move forward on the decision making path. BUT deciding which of the CMS to go with is challenging/daunting.

I believe this is an important element of online learning. There are so many tools that can be used to get the same point across, and if it engages the students they will be more likely to want to learn it.

Brings up a good point. Most districts have the right to keep students off the internet if they have abused it in the past. What happens when it is required for a class?

That is a good question Bethany! What does happen??

I think policies need to be developed by schools and school districts to address such issues.

This seems to be a particularly relevant standard for this field in particular, perhaps more so than in any other area. Not only do "new" technologies enter the educational setting, but familiar ones are updated/upgraded. There is also such a broad range of technology available, as well as slightly different "products" to do similar tasks.

I agree Erin this is so important and so challenging as an educator to stay on top of the new learning that is needed to teach native tech students in todays world.