Chapter 10 describes it best when it says, "trying to balance the needs of individual learners with those of larger, increasingly diverse classroom communities is part of what imbues the field of teaching with creativity, excitement and constant challenge." (245) Personally, I feel the word that stands out most from this quote is challenge. Imagine a classroom of 25 students all with different learning needs, then add to it the issues some have at home, and now try teaching them. To some it may sound easy, but to those who are in the teaching profession we know how difficult it really is. Nothing bothers me more than people who have no idea what really goes into teaching calling teachers "certified babysitters." 
Adapting and adding the use of technology in the classroom can greatly help reach all children's learning needs and help them reach their potential. Technology can be great for visual learners, auditory learners, and even kinesthetic learners. With modern technology, there really is no limit on what a child is capable of doing. Technology also helps to reach out to multicultural learners and learners who do not have english as their first language. It's amazing that a teacher with the help of technology, can teach students in different languages even if the teacher is not bilingual herself. Many apps and educational websites can be used in different languages in order to make sure a child is not being restricted from learning the lesson just because of a language barrier. Children can learn english at their own pace, but not miss out on what is being taught in the classroom in other subjects. 
Chapter 11 talks a lot about testing and assessments. Assessments are clearly made to measure the growth of a child, but nonetheless are portrayed by some students that they are inadequate. A child feels if they do not get in a the upper 90's or a perfect score that they are a failure. Although, if a child scores a 20 on a test and then takes a similar tests and gets a 70, then it is proven that a child is learning. To me, assessments do not show a child's full potential, but rather looks at them as just a test score. I think assessments need to be differentiated such as learning is in the classroom. Some students are simply not test takers even though they may have mastered the material. An assessment sometimes, does not show what a child is capable of. Technology can help differentiate tests to accommodate each child's differences. Students can take oral tests, online tests, written tests, and even be assessed in the form of a game which will make the testing less stressful and more about what a child actually knows and is learning.Question for readers:
1. How do you feel about testing and certain forms of assessments?
Trying to teach our diverse students is really difficult to do, for we must need their individualized needs; I agree with your frustration with people who refer to teachers as "certified babysitters," because on top of caring for a whole class of student, we are to truly teach them using methods that suit ALL students' needs. Students have their own ways of learning best, due to their multiple intelligences, and come from different backgrounds that influence them. Therefore, as you mentioned, technology can be really helpful with all the sources and tools they provide educators to use. We must provide students with multicultural education as well as integrate a universal design for learning (UDL) into our curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way as you do about assessments not truly reflecting the students' full potential, but should be used to guide instruction. Therefore, in response to your question, I feel that we should not look to children and label them based on their test grades, but use assessment to help students learn, such as through the clickers strategy. By using clickers in the classroom, learning is promoted as all students are engaged, receiving corrective feedback, and participating in question-centered learning.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI agree that assessment do not paint a true picture of what the learner is understanding. The questions are concrete and there is little straying from the "answer". This is why I prefer to use holistic or application based question (real life experience). Although the CCSS aim to achieve this, teachers in the classroom need to bridge the gap between concepts and application since this is the only way learners can apply their knowledge. Technology can assist with this as it allows for learners to use media to display their understanding in any mode.
Hey Susan,
ReplyDeleteI feel that not all assessments have to be a formal test. Many students suffer from test anxiety, they can do all the work flawlessly in class but then when they are presented with a formal test they completely bomb it. I am a strong believer in using take home projects as assessments because it allows the students time to work on it as well as the comfort of their own home so they are less stressed and anxious about it.
I think that assessments certainly need to be differentiated and students should not be evaluated based on only one test or one assignment. That simply shows what a student knew at that point in time or even whatever information that student was able to maintain at that point. It doesn't truly show whether this student has understanding and is grasping the subject properly. Many assessments, especially testing, end up labeling students as just a number. Little Eddie may be a 45 while Lisa is a 96 while she may have very well guessed most of her answers. But, the test says she's an A students. Because of this we need to be able to assess student learning in various ways where we can see that a student is fully grasping a concept and actually understanding what is being taught. When we know that as teachers we are achieving this - or maybe we aren't - we can see how to modify our lessons in order to best serve our students.
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