s.m.a.r.t goal -...

R E B E K A H M A R T I N

Formative Assessment Portfolio

James Madison University

December 2, 2014

S.M.A.R.T Goal for Formative Assessment

F o r m a t i v e A s s e s s m e n t S . M . A . R . T G o a l P o r t f o l i o 2

S . M.A. R .T Goa lI w a n t t o t r y u s i n g t w o d i f f e r e n t m e t h o d s o f f o r m a t i v e m a t h a s s e s s m e n t i n m y p r a c t i c u m c l a s s r o o m t h i s s e m e s t e r .

I chose this goal because it will give me the opportunity to practice knowing the students I’m working with in a personal way. Using formative assessment will enable be to be confident about knowing how to help my students grow and build understanding of mathematical concepts. I realized that in order to be successful using formative assessment it was important for me to plan how you will assess the students’ work during the lesson. The preparation of the formative assessment tool took place in the Before phase of the lesson. Once I had chosen my strategy, I was set up well to observe my student’s thinking during the lesson; this represents the During phase. Finally, in the After phase, I used my formative assessment tool to gauge the level of understanding, reflect on students’ individual thinking and creativity, uncover misconceptions, and plan how I will proceed with instruction.

Proj ect :

H o w w i l l I a c c o m p l i s h m y g o a l ? I n c l a s s I w i l l p r a c t i c e o b s e r v i n g m y c l a s s m a t e s m e t h o d s a n d c o m p a r e

t h e m t o m y m e t h o d s . T h i s w i l l h e l p m e u s e f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t o u n d e r s t a n d d i f f e r e n t m a t h e m a t i c a l a p p r o a c h e s t o t h e s a m e t o p i c o r p r o b l e m .

O u t o f c l a s s i n m y p r a c t i c u m I w i l l c h o o s e t w o t y p e s o f f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t o p r a c t i c e u s i n g . I c h o s e t w o s o t h a t I c a n s e e w h i c h I a m m o r e c o m f o r t a b l e , a n d t h e b e n e f i t s o f u s i n g m u l t i p l e s t r a t e g i e s f o r o b s e r v a t i o n .

I c a n u s e t h e E L E D 4 3 3 L e s s o n P l a n P r o j e c t , t o i n c l u d e u s i n g f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t d u r i n g a n a c t u a l l e s s o n I w i l l b e p r e p a r i n g , t e a c h i n g , a n d r e f l e c t i n g a b o u t .

Before During After


H o w w i l l I d o c u m e n t m y p r o c e s s ? T h e t w o d i f f e r e n t m e t h o d s I c h o s e f o r f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t w i l l b o t h

b e w r i t t e n d o c u m e n t a t i o n . T h e y w i l l b o t h b e c o n c r e t e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f m y l e a r n i n g o f f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t s , a n d t h e d a t a I h a v e g a t h e r e d f r o m t h e s t u d e n t s . I w i l l a l s o r e f l e c t o n t h e d a t a I c o l l e c t t h r o u g h j o u r n a l i n g .

I n t e g r a ti o n : I n a l l o f m y o t h e r c o u r s e s I w i l l p r e p a r e a n d t e a c h m y o w n l e s s o n

p l a n s . D u r i n g t h e s e l e s s o n s , I c a n p r a c t i c e u s i n g f o r m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t t o g a u g e m y s t u d e n t s ’ l e v e l o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g .

A f f e c t :Formative assessment isn’t just a tool to be used in mathematics. It is a skill that I can practice using in math, and then

use in every subject. My goal is to become a more observant teacher across all fields because of the practice this assignment will give me.

W h o a m I ? W h o d o I w a n t t o b e c o m e ?Overall, I feel that I have the heart of a teacher that is prepared to teach math. I am equipped to know my students,

empathize with them, and bring enthusiasm and creativity to my lessons. However, I want to understand how to teach math in an effective comprehensive way, opposed to the memorization of procedures and processes I experienced.

T h e f o l l o w i n g c h a r t r e p r e s e n t s t h e v a r i e t y o f s t r a t e g i e s I p r a c t i c e d w i t h , t h e c o n t e n t a r e a s , h o w a p p r o p r i a t e t h e y w e r e w i t h t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e l e s s o n , a n d

w h e t h e r o r n o t I p r e f e r t h e m e t h o d f o r f u t u r e u s e .

S t r a t e g i e s C o n t e n t A r e aA p p r o p r i a t e

U s eP r e f e r r e d

M e t h o d

C h e c k l i s tSCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, LANGUAGE

ARTS

Y e s

Checklists are overall my preferred method as long as there is a place for notes. I found checklists are easy to make and easy to use.

O b s e r v a t i o n C h a r t MATH Y e sDefinitely preferred method for math.

K e e l e y ’ s S t r a t e g i e s f o r S c i e n c e F o r m a t i v e A s s e s s m e n t

SCIENCE Y e s This book was a very valuable resource for Science formative assessment. I’d love to try some of the other


strategies with other content areas.

A n e c d o t a l N o t e s MATH N o

I really loved this method, however I feel it would’ve been more successful for Reading because it could keep a running record on the cards opposed to information about a couple kids in one lesson.

STRATEGY SAMPLES: C H E C K L I S T

1. The first image below is the first formative assessment I tried working with. It is a checklist that I created for my first Word Study Lesson Plan. I decided to try out the checklist approach because for my Word Study Lesson I was playing an UNO game with the students’ words. I knew that I wouldn’t have time to write tedious notes as I played the game with them, and since the game was a card game there weren’t any samples of work that could assess afterwards for understanding. Therefore, I chose the checklist because throughout the game I could easily check off understanding of objectives I was observing. After the game I added more detailed notes on a separate sheet of paper, however, the checklist was very helpful because it jogged my memory about certain observations I made that I wanted to go into more detail about. It also provided me with a general assessment of all the students, opposed to just a few notes about several students. So far, I

have learned that my goal is very practical and effective in helping me become a more observant teacher. My goal is encouraging me to push out of my comfort zone and try new formative assessment strategies in order to gain multiple experiences with observation. My goal was to practice with two different types, and so far I’ve


officially created one. Therefore, I am confident I will exceed my goal and learn a lot about formative assessment in the process.

2. For my science lesson my cooperating practicum teacher asked me to do a review lesson on light. In order to practice using formative assessment for each class’ overall understanding of the material, I made a question sheet checklist. This checklist differed from the checklist I used in my word study lesson because it didn’t have each student’s names and a box to check whether or not the individual understood the content. Instead, I simply put a check beside the question if the students answered the question correctly in their group during a review game we played. I didn’t find this formative assessment to be very helpful because I hadn’t left enough room for comments and notes. I also couldn’t assess what each child knew. However, it was helpful because I now know that I prefer formative assessment strategies that allow me to assess students on an


individual level, with room for brief comments or notes.

3. For my Social Studies Lesson Plan in my practicum classroom, I decided to use an oral based checklist. During the small group discussion, brainstorming, drawing, and strategizing I walked around with the checklist to formatively assess if students were meeting my objectives for the strategizing aspect of the lesson. By making the checklist I was able to focus in and listen for key words and ideas that represented the level of understanding I my lesson was trying to promote. This strategy was very effective because it was easy to make and easy to use. The bottom of the checklist had a place for me to quickly jot down notes about ideas that stood out to me from each group. In the concluding portion of my lesson I was able to sue my checklist


and notes to choose specific student’s work and ideas I wanted to highlight. After the lesson I was able to refer to the checklist to assess whether my objectives were met. I will definitely use this method of assessment in my future classroom for group work in all the content areas. It was very effective for me.

OBSERVATION CHART The formative assessment Observation Chart above was used during my Undergrad Math ELED 333 class one day when we were asked to assess student work. The layout may seem a bit confusing, however, overall this strategy worked great because I had a box for each student where I could record exactly what he or she did. Then the center column had an option to circle SC (semi-concrete) or A (abstract) or both. The column was helpful because it allowed me to assess a specific aspect of each student’s work, which I later used to categorize the students into groups. I enjoyed using an Observation Chart to record notes about each student’s work. I plan to use this strategy for observing and assessing math in my future classroom because I feel that it is the most appropriate and effective tool.


ANECDOTAL NOTES

REFLECTION Throughout this project I

realized how being intentional about

formatively assessing students changed

the way I viewed the content, the process

of teaching, and the planning for the next

lesson. I became a more observant

teacher that focused on student-centered

teaching by using strategies and tools to

plan my lessons based on the specific

needs and strengths of my students.

F o r m a t i v e A s s e s s m e n t S . M . A . R . T G o a l P o r t f o l i o 1 0

Overall, I truly enjoyed experimenting with the different strategies and learning about which methods worked best for my

teaching style, and the different content areas.

This portfolio represents the different strategies I used, my reflections based on my personal experiences with

them, and plans for implementing them in my future classroom. I far exceeded my goal by practicing more than one

strategy and thoughtfully reflecting on them all. I feel confident moving forward as a teacher knowing that I have a list of

classroom-tested strategies to assess my students that I know are effective, I know how and when to use them

appropriately, and I know for certain that they will help me be more flexible and accurate when planning future lessons

for my students.

My favorite methods are the checklist and the observation chart. The checklist is appealing for it’s high ease of

use. Checklists are easy to create and straightforward during implementation. They are great to use during teaching

because you can engage with your students while assessing them, opposed to waiting until after the lesson to assess. The

observation charts are organized clearly to help compare students’ thinking and work all in one place. Instead of

switching between concrete samples after the lesson, the observation chart allowed me to compile small examples of

student work during the lesson to help implement student sharing at the end of my lesson.

I feel that at this point I have fully achieved my goals for my formative assessment SMART goal. My portfolio

features a wide variety of formative assessment strategies and how they are effectively implemented in the classroom. It

shows significant and detailed evidence of personal practice using the formative assessment strategies in the classroom

with thoughtful reflection. I was able to use a formative assessment with each of my lesson plans in all four content areas,

as well as other assignments in several subjects. Not only did I thoughtfully reflect on the strategies but I also went a step

further to think about how, after using these tools, where I could implement them most appropriately in my future

classroom. Therefore, I believe I have excelled in meeting my goals, and preparing a portfolio that reflects my experiences

through reflection. I am confident that I will be more observant, intentional teacher because of this study and experience.

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