NCFALCON Module #1: Importance of Formative Assessment
The Guiding Mission of the NC State Board of Education "is that every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century." This "looks like": Critical Thinkers and Self-Directed Learners.
What does your department BELIEVE is OUR role as high school educators in helping our kids achieve this goal? (please do not talk about the student's role...discuss our role as educators). Describe at least five ways YOUR department plans to help our kids accomplish this mission. Also describe what "critical thinkers and self-directed learners" looks like in your classrooms.
Our role as educators is to equip our students for life in the 21st Century regardless of the path they choose after high school. We are doing the following things either school-wide or through PLCs to help students achieve this goal:
ReplyDelete1) We are working with teachers & students to evaluate and investigate open-source web-based productivity tools.
2) We are working with teachers and students to model and teach the ethical use and citing of resources (both print and electronic).
3) We are working with teachers and students to provide lessons and have on-going discussions regarding Internet Safety and on the potential consequences of a person's Digital Footprint.
4) We are working with teachers and students to encourage and model collaborative practices involving teaching and learning.
5) We are working with teachers to encourage real-wold scenarios that are challenging and require critical thinking and problem solving.
Critical thinkers and self-directed learners can be found in the Technology Education classroom while they are working on projects. They are designing and building using their creativity but also problem solving and troubleshooting to get the best product. In Dannielle's classroom students are doing independent learning facilitated by Dannielle and in conjunction with Barbara, Brittany & Lori.
Barbara, Brittany, Lori, Dannielle & John B.
Our role includes holding students accountable. We also must provide challenging, relevant and engaged lessons. We can design project-based learning lessons where students discover information on their own rather than the teacher giving them all the information. We can design cooperative learning activities where everyone has a task and all must contribute in order to be successful. Teachers can model the value of learning, learning for learning's sake. Education does not stop once you graduate. Teachers can use technology effectively and help students to use it effectively to further their learning.
ReplyDeleteMs. Perry, Ms. Norton, Ms. Spencer, Ms. Tolley
Cultural Arts (and yearbook/journalism) and Physical Education/Health have one common theme -- REAL LIFE LEARNING. Teachers must be facilitators.
ReplyDeleteWith Cultural Arts (and yearbook/journalism) one way that we develop self-directed learners is by giving them the chance to solve problems -- which are both constant and constantly changing. This is real life :-)
In Physical Education/Health, students are involved in game-like activities which have constant changes in play but must still adhere to the rules. As teachers, we have to give them guidance (boundaries) in order to be successful. This is real life :-)
In or classrooms this is often not the "old" typical style. To others, this may look like organized chaos. Students are working on different objectives all at the same time. It requires students to be responsible, which is often difficult on those of us who want to micro-manage to feel successful. Teachers must give students at task and let THEM figure out how to accomplish it, even if it requires failure.
From Rhonda Kallam & Lyn Carlisle
A P.S. FROM LYN -- Having REAL LIFE learning like this (especially in yearbook and journalism) means that sometimes students will be making mistakes outside the classroom. Example -- sending notes to teachers filled with grammatical errors. ALL TEACHERS need to take advantage of those teachable moments so that we're all working together to correct and monitor as they develop these skills. :-)
In response to the post from the foreign language department, I completely agree that it is important for teachers to prepare students for the working world by holding them accountable. When a student is assigned to APEX Learning, I explain how the courses are designed and tips for how to be successful participating in an online course. From there, the students realize that they are responsible for moving through the material and assignments on their own. If they reach a point of frustration or confusion, I help them with strategies to find the help they need. Also, I agree that students should be given the opportunity to discover learning on their own. By taking an online course on APEX or Virtual Public High School, the students get to experience just that, independent learning, research and application. I also think that taking a course in this fashion prepares students for college. Most colleges use some form of online class participation, blogs, blackboard, wikis or other. L. Mignone
ReplyDeleteOur role as educators of 21st century learners should include facilitating the use of technology to get immediate feedback - this will allow us as teachers to change what or how we are teaching. It is our responsibility as educators to embrace technology.
ReplyDeleteOur primary goal of 21st century educators is to make student learning and understanding readily apparent so that we may adapt our teaching strategies to better meet our students needs.
Formative assessments help us determine our students' current knowledge, understanding, misconceptions and thinking processes.
1 - Visualize conceptual strategies making it more "real world". Not all assessment need to be formal and published.
2 - Our classrooms should be structured so that educators can identify background knowledge that students used to solve problems in "real time".
3 - Integrate more project based learning.
4 - We will gather formative assessment data, analyze, adjust, and apply information collected to identify student skills that may need further attention.
5 - We as teachers need to be able to recognize where our students are not successful and adjust to our students.
As facilitators of FACS and HO classrooms, we agree with Mignone, in that we CONSTANTLY prepare students for real world situations - our curriculums are more often than not, project based and student led.
ReplyDeleteAgain, as facilitators of FACS and HO, we too design cooperative learning activities that are peer led and peer reviewed.
ReplyDeleteThese types of activities will better prepare students for "real world" and working with others, whether its in a college classroom, on the job, or through social networking.
**ALL Comments from J. Flynt include the thoughts of: M. Cardwell, J. Manuel, K. Miller and J. Flynt***
Approaching this blog from the perspective of my other roll here at McMichael, as a CTE teacher: One of the reasons why I think offering CTE courses is so important is that they do prepare students for real life and the world of work. When teaching concepts such as economics, leadership skills or money & banking it is important to relate the content to what is going on in the world around us. Allowing students to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real life examples, helping them build problem solving skills, and giving them an opportunity to use technology on a weekly basis are all a part of the CTE curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThe EC department agrees with the NC State Board of Education’s mission that “every public school student should graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.” We believe that our role with the students with special needs is to provide real world learning opportunities where we incorporate life application skills within every class and situation as possible. Five ways that we plan to assist our students are:
ReplyDelete1. Providing on the job training/experience with our students on the OCS diploma track by providing various job opportunities in multiple areas in order to better prepare the students for the work force.
2. Teaching the students how to utilize technology in a way that they can search, apply, and communicate online with prospective employers.
3. Continuing to have students develop and complete their electronic portfolio that includes both school and work experiences.
4. Taking advantage of teachable moments to relate student actions to the consequences on the job in a workplace and teaching our students how to advocate for self and others.
5. When teaching Algebra, Biology, and other core subjects that we will relate the curriculum to the student’s world so that they may make a true connection to the curriculum that is being taught.
Within our classroom, the critical thinkers and self-directed learners are those that want to problem-solve and find solutions that may not be “the traditional way”. These students are seeking ways to complete tasks quickly and efficiently. While we believe that collaborative learning experiences such as project based learning on a computer are beneficial, we have found that collaborative work experiences have been more helpful and have taught our students more about teamwork and what life will be like on the job.
EC Dept
If we are to have every student to be successful, we as teachers need understand the backgrounds of our students - we will have to discover what their needs are educationally, emotionally, and socially. There are many different aspects to teaching other than tests.
ReplyDeleteI feel that we need more vocational offerings in order to meet more students' needs as all students are not four-year college bound.
I feel that as a CTE department, we ALL are involved in the five comments listed under jflynt2 (FACS and HO classes).
The module and state seems more geared toward college preparatory than real life. The stated goals of preparing each student is great but with cutbacks in programs and extra curricular activities the actuality of what is happening is much more limited. More hands on (doing activities)are needed to improve learning. After talking with many teachers, many of us remember activities, labs, and special activities from high school and not what we were lectured about.
ReplyDeleteAs a science department, I think we all agree that we need to work toward the following five goals:
ReplyDelete1-Allow our students to work collaboratively on a regular basis. Whether on projects or on "normal" assignments, students learn more if they discuss what they are learning as well as their process of how they are learning.
2-Make connections for our students that show how what they are learning is relevent to their world
3-Teach students about real world/current events that are related to their subject matter in order to make them more globally aware
4-Incorporate current technology into our classes on a regular basis
5-Challenge students to not just look for the answer but to ask "why" and then seek the answer to that "why" themselves, and then to ask "why" again and again until they reach a deeper understanding.
Critical thinkers and self-directed learners are just what we have described above, students who do not just memorize facts but can carry on meaningful discussion of how and why things happen.
Thanks Ms. Carlisle for saying that it is not only okay, but also our responsibility to correct students from other classes when they make a mistake. Often we feel we may be stepping on toes if we point out a mistake, but as our responsibility, we are truly embracing those "teachable" moments.
ReplyDeleteThe science department also agrees with Ronnie Webster in that we also think that vocational education is important. We need to address the whole student, giving them real world skills: manners, assuming responsibility, strengthing writing and math skills for the workforce...we don't just need to teach science, but the entire package that will make every student employable regardless if they complete a four year degree program.
ReplyDeleteOur department believes that our role as an educator is to provide an atmosphere that is dedicated to the ongoing academic success of our students. It is our obligation as facilitators in the learning process of our students to enrich their opportunity to grow intellectually by creating a classroom that is conducive to their achievement as 21st century learners.
ReplyDeleteOne way we plan to help our students to become 21st century learners is to enhance their ability to become technologically advanced. It is vital that we incorporate resources such as: Virtual Tours, Blogging, and Google Docs in our daily agenda. By using such sites we will enrich their ability to transition into the world more readily upon graduation from McMichael High and be more than prepared for a successful future.
The second way that we will help our students to achieve this goal is to provide more opportunities to communicate with the community they live in by helping them to understand various methods of problem solving. Students who engage with their community learn to that their input in society is not only valued but essential to the growth and success of their community. Examples of these lessons would include book talks with elementary students, peer tutoring sessions, volunteering with the elderly and other activities that the students may be interested in.
Another way to help our students reach this mission is to build a family-like environment in our classrooms where students feel open to discuss delicate matters in an open and trustworthy environment. As facilitators it is our duty to teach students how to build relationships that are nurturing and uplifting so that they will be able to create healthy relationships both inside and outside of the classroom. This will enable students to become productive members of our society, ones who have a moral obligation to become positive role models.
A fourth responsibility of teachers is to assess each student and recognize their capabilities as learners. It is crucial that we give our students an honest evaluation of their potential based on the whole student and their achievements. In other words, we need to be able to provide our students with a true depiction of their strengths and weaknesses based on our formative and summative assessments of their abilities and character.
Lastly, we need to afford students with the chance to demonstrate and create new innovative ideas that will improve the knowledge base for all students. A way that we might incorporate this into our classroom is by allowing students to reflect on lessons that were effective versus those that were not. Then, allow students to collaborate in groups to help create lesson plans for future students. By giving students projects such as these, we are providing project based learning, a part of the Common Core.
We discussed our definition of critical thinkers and self directed learners and what they would look like in our classrooms. Critical thinkers are individuals who analyze and then explicate particular situations on a much deeper level. These students would learn to do a cloze reading, comprehend, and respond to different types of texts. Critical thinkers would change the discourse in the classroom among their peers by introducing higher order thinking and reasoning skills. Self-directed learners use the facilitator’s instructions to apply their knowledge to demonstrate a deeper understanding of a specific subject by creating and explaining the information to their peers in a productive manner. These students would learn how to be self-sufficient by taking copious notes, developing listening skills, and working on their own with minimal assistance from the teacher.
The EC department agrees with the science department in the belief that as educators we need to make connections so that instruction is relevant to our students. Connections make it so that one idea flows into another and students can apply the new knowledge to past learning experiences which in turn encourages them to be better critical thinkers.
ReplyDeleteThe EC department also feels as Mrs. Mignone does that classes such as CTE courses are key to the preparation of students to the real world. Technology, core classes, and the like are all extremely important; however, the skills learned in the CTE classes compliment the core classes and are necessary in the preparation of students for the real world. These classes provide life skills that can be used in multiple career choices.
ReplyDeleteAs Business/CTE educators our task at hand is to “prepare a competent, business-literate, and skilled workforce.” www.dpi.state.nc.us/cte/busienss
ReplyDeleteAlthough it seems our primary goal appears to be preparing students with 21st Century computer skills we also provide the opportunity to develop other relevant life skills such as managing personal finances, and/or developing skills to become productive employees and/or entrepreneurs, making intelligent consumer decisions, and understanding basic economics.
To accomplish these goals we:
1. Employ the web-based learning tools such as moodle learning environment, and multimedia learning.
2. Encourage independent leanring such as online tutorials and activities: E-Learning, Quia, GCF learn are a few.
3. Use online evaluation tools with opportunities for reteach/re-evaluation: these include Elements, Quia, IT Academy testing software, and teacher made rubrics.
4. Model ethical and secure Internet usage.
5. Reinforce across the curriculum projects.
Our teaching is focused on hands-on learning with projects either individual or team projects. Student's are allowed to determine the content on some projects that is pertinent to the educational environment.
Ann, Margaret, Charles
CULTURAL ARTS Dept:
ReplyDelete1) We teach kids to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX and how to solve problems -- both the individual problems with their own performances or the collective problems that come from working as a unit.
2) One of the ways OUR department plans to help our kids accomplish this mission is to give kids the opportunity to be self-directed learners and critical thinkers by providing them with an opportunity OUTSIDE the classroom to collaborate, learn, design and be part of a huge process. We do that by offering the musical (this year, the "Best of Broadway") which includes all areas of our department: Randy's band will play; Ann will help vocalists; Lyn will direct and do design work with the kids; Teresa and Ashlee's students will design posters and perhaps some scenery.
3) We model proper etiquette and ethical behavior through public performances throughout the school year.
4)We teach and model citizenship, compassion and charity as we encourage charitable giving and participation in community organizations.
5) We help students recognize their learning styles (auditory, physical, kinesthetic)as they recognize their strengths & weaknesses within the performing arts.
6) We help students develop a lifelong love for the arts, with cross-curricular interactions that transcend cultural boundaries.
CULTURAL ARTS DEPT: Ann Pratt, Lyn Carlisle, Randy Quarles, Ashlee Cox, Teresa Nickens
The role of educators is to guide students to become critical thinkers and self-directed learner. There are many ways that our department works to get students to think critically, and to provide students with opportunities to self-direct their learning. Module 1 on formative assessments helps get students to do this by getting out of the old method of bombarding students with quizzes and tests and assessing their knowledge through new and innovative ways.
ReplyDeleteSelf-directed learners and critical thinkers do not need to be constantly reminded by the teacher to stay on tasks when given an assignment for the day or over an extended period of time. Students who are self motivated complete assignments and are able to interject interesting comments that relate to class discussions, showing that they learned from their assignment. These students want to help others. They are always an asset to their group and during whole class discussions
1. long-range assignments
2. self-paced assignments
3. multiple attempts to complete assignments/games related to content
4. research-based projects
5. in class group presentations related to content matter (ie mock trials, skits, etc.)
Social Studies Department: Mr. Marshall, Mr. Sparks, Mr. Williams, Dr. Poplin, Mr. Stevens
We agree with other departments that students need projects with real-life applications. The long-range projects should be broken into manageable steps with scaffolding for the students who require it. The projects should give students the opportunity to display their individual talents. Students need to learn to approach long-term projects with the knowledge of how to pace themselves and break the assignment into manageable tasks. They also need to be able to collaborate with others. These are tools they will need to be successful in the 21st century workplace.
ReplyDeleteMs. Perry, Ms. Norton, Ms. Spencer, Ms. Tolley
We agree with cultural arts that displaying ethics and integrity are the foundation for success. In our department we encourage a life-long appreciation of languages and different cultures. We prepare our students to be competitive in the 21st century workplace by being able to speak more than one language.
ReplyDeleteWe all believe in holding students accountable. Letting students slide only starts a chaine reaction of limited results in everything that is to be expected. CTE is one where a lot of the results will come from hands on learning and students understand that paying close attention to detail in all of CTE classes is very important. Also in CTE, we tend to cover different areas than what's being taught and also incorporate other subject matter that can help in other classes such as math and science.
ReplyDelete1. We need to go stress the foundation of learning such as reading and writing which helps the student become an overall better student.
2. We will help the students understand that with improved reading and writing comes a better thinker/listener.
3. Review, Review, Review
4. Encourage life long learning and explain what it is, and why it is needed beyond the job.
5. Try to instill the "hard work ethic" and illustrate more how it pays off instead of the short cuts.
Self directed learners will be excited about the results and the steps it took to get them. Critical thinkers will want to talk or debate with others and share ideas to get the results.