Online+Class+January+14,+2012

Online Class Map for 1/14/12


 * Other Materials for Online Class 1/14/12**

1. Quarter II Syllabus

2. Thinking About My Classroom Assessment Document

3. Homework Reading: Assessment Crisis Please add to the online discussion questions posted early in the week (before Tuesday) by responding to at least 3 of the 4 questions initially. Use a different legible font style/color and add your name. Then check back frequently (at least twice during the week and before Saturday) and respond to others’ comments and responses. Your participation requires you to respond at least twice to others’ comments throughout the week.
 * Online Discussion Assignment 1/14/12 **

==1**. The first course goal of TLA 578 states that we will “examine school cultures for beliefs, assumptions, expectations, and group dynamics and consider multiple ways of constructing change within them.” What are some ways we might do that within our own school settings? Share your own ideas and comment on others’ ideas that you find interesting.**==
 * Though is would be very time consuming, I would like to sit down small groups of students, teachers and support staff to get their opinions on where we are, where we should be going, what we do right and what we need to do to improve. These people work in the system everyday and have a much better understanding of what works and what doesn't. ~Cheryl **

I would say that this could be done by doing a survey of the teachers and other staff members of the school. At our school seeing at it is a smaller school we get together and talk about the beliefs and expectations of the school quite often. I would just bring up the other issues listed below in the survey or in the school meeting. ~Tiaa

I think at my school this would best be done by giving teachers/staff a safe place to vent and discuss issues that we are having/feeling. (We would most likely do this in our team setting). Then having a representative take that information to a building/leadership team to share with administrators and other staff what concerns are. At a later date (when everyone is calm and collected) revisit the list of concerns as a team again and think and brainstorm solutions or ideas (creative) that haven't been tried yet to discover ways to solve or make our school an even better place to be. I think often times a school bites off more than they can chew. Too many initiatives are put in place. Schools need to make small changes at a time...SEE IT THROUGH...before taking on something else. :) ~Christen


 * When you’re a part of staff at a school, it’s important to KNOW my school climate, culture, and dynamics. When trying to teach today’s youth who are set in their own ways of thinking and reacting, I try to establish a working relationship with them. I mean, how can I possible change and instill in them the “proper” way of things, if there’s no trust or relationship there. Even if my students miss more than 3 to 4 days in a week’s period, I or my para is constantly on the phone checking on them. My school has also came up with this idea of sending out “Miss You” postcards to my student’s home. It’s a easy and small gesture to send letting them know that they’re missed, and let’s face it..I doubt if they hear those words a lot. ~JULI **


 * The Principal of a school should set the tone to create a climate of trust and conducive to success. Through collaboration and dedication the staff can create a culture of excellence. Most students learn through observation. They will buy into it when they know that the adults in the building care and have high expectations. Adults can make or break a school, it's up to them to instill a solid culture of excellence.-Mamadou **

I think the way to address concerns are to begin with the i//nitial purpose of an educational institution, which is to educate.// //Then set the instruction, curriculum, material, equipment and techonology to enhance//learning. //If the schools would adhere to follow their handbook rules and guidelines more time would be spent on teaching.// //I agree with the corporate idea to allow suggestions by those concerned, but unfortionately it usually creates confilct and no action toward a// change my experience has shown. Denise

Like Tiaa's school, I work for a smaller school as well and we too get together and have discussions on were would like to see the school and what the expectations are for the students in our school. I would like to the owner of our school to assess the staffs members to see if they should be moved around in other places or if it is time for some of them to be let go. It has been my experience lately to deal with staff members who are angry and this is causing an issue amongst the other employees. When employees are not happy this can cause the educational dynamics to be effected. - Tajuanna
 * I believe that a good way of understanding the culture, beliefs, and assumptions in a school is to pay attention to the staff during a staff meeting or during professional development activities. There are a number of misconceptions that permeate in the classrooms, but staff meetings help m ake us aware of these misconceptions. This is where staff and faculty can talk openly and share ideas and concerns. Having a role play situation is also a good way to see how staff perceive their students, which acting out the behaviors portrayed in the classroom. Tamika **

**2. One of the major topics of TLA 578 is “Teacher as facilitator/leader.” What are some characteristics of teachers you know that you consider “teacher leaders/facilitators”?**

 * A teacher that exposes the students to the possibilities, then lets the students explore the areas that interest them. The students would still have guiding questions they'd have to answer, but each could find their own path to the answers. Sharing what they'd learned would be part of the assessment, and having them evaluate themselves and each other on the improvements to their skills would be another. This way, you could have students with different ability levels and interests in the same room/ class.~ Cheryl **

Sometimes, it is difficult to be a facilitator/leader when many teachers just want to teach. However, teaching without any coversations from students about what they are learning is not, in my opinion, one of the best teaching practices. Teachers who know how to present concepts/ skills/ideas to students and then step back to let them use their questions to guide their learning see the most progress out of their students. My first few years teaching at Starms we used "The Project Approach" to teach social studies and science. We followed these steps: choose a social studies/science theme, complete a KWL chart, teach concepts and skills, students would choose a question that they had about what they had learned to do further research on. Students lastly, created a presentation board to present answering their question. We were facilitators that guided our students' learning through their interests. ~Caryn~

I can think of quite a few. All of which are very updated with classes and the "newest" thing. They are willing to be reflective and make changes even if it means that they have to make a change within themselves as a teacher. They are willing to share with others and collaborate, not hoard ideas. They don't just feed the information to the students, they allow students to explore and pave their own way to learning the material. They give their children the opportunity to experience what they are learning, not just listen to it. ~Christen

A teacher is a facilitator. Your presence in the classroom and managing it already made you a leader. By channeling knowledge and letting the children take ownership of their learning, the teacher becomes a facilitator. He becomes a Leader when he mentors and assists less experienced teachers and/or takes on task to help the school overall.-Mamadou


 * I personally believe there is a major difference between teacher as a facilitator and teacher as a teacher. A teacher leader/facilitator is exactly what it sounds like….they LEAD children to a higher understanding. They encourage and support students. Teachers TEACH and DIRECT. They’re seen more as the authoritative role. Their saying “LISTEN TO ME, as I know what’s best” approach. I’d like to think of myself as a facilitator, I love my students to help me plan lessons and be an active voice within my classroom. I’d rather teach WITH them and not AT them. ~ JULI **

**Juli that's really neat that you include your children in your planning! That's a cool way of looking at a teacher as a facilitator. I totally read this the wrong way and was thinking of facilitator as more with colleagues not my students....oops! Now that I have read all these responses, I agree. A teacher as a facilitator pays close attention to their students and their needs. They guide their students to help them find their understanding. They allow the children to take ownership of their learning rather than determine and make those decisions soley for them. This can be done with the little ones too, not just intermediate/high school! ~Christen**

**A Teachers as a facilitator/ leader characterics are:** **I think it's when one extends themselves to the family and school community initiating educational support. Denise**

**The characteristics of Teacher/Facilitators are individuals who are able to be effective in there teaching style by getting the students to learn what is necessary and instruct them in the manner that is appropriate. For example, the teacher I work with is very good at teaching the children and then showing them examples in order to get them to learn. - Tajuanna**
 * Teachers who are facilitators have great classroom management skills, they are organized and they plan well. Usually teachers who are facilitators are flexible and understand differentiated instruction. Tamika **

**3. How would you define “assessment” in relation to K12 classrooms? All definitions are considered valid as they come from your own experiences!**
**The way the system is currently defined, we take people, push them through a set curriculum (that may or may not be what they are ready for.) I would prefer to get info on the students before the semester starts, and be able to work with small groups of similar interests and ability levels. Some teachers argue that a class like World History is a survey course and the teacher should treat it like water skiing: move fast and barely skim the surface. I'd like to run the class like scuba diving: choose some really interesting areas and see how deep you can go! Set it up so one section covers the ancient world, another the medieval, early modern, etc... Making the class high interest, and more in depth, but the major questions of history would be covered regardless.~ Cheryl**

**Cheryl...I think that is such a neat idea! THe lack of interest among students is such a problem! There is no doubt that "the basics and the must haves", could be weaved into anything with a little effort and thought behind it :) ~Christen**

**I agree with both Tiaa and Caryn on what assessment is! It CAN BE used as a tool to get a snap shot of where a student has come. It can also be a map to guide us with where to take the child from here. I enjoy my reading assessment times to really dig in and get a good idea of where a child is reading and where they fall on our benchmarks. I HATE group assessments. I think it's very nerve wracking for the students. I don't think they measure what we really want to measure for example...word problems in math. I really enjoy informal and formal observation as well as conferencing. ~Christen**
 * I would define assessment as a tool to measure or observe a persons learning ability. Assessments are tools to help one understand what a person knows and what a person doesn't know. It is also a way to help a person learn what is needed to be learned. -Tiaa **
 * In my opinion, assessments are snapshots of what a student has learned (assessment of learning). Assessments should guide a teachers planning and teaching (assessment for learning). Assessments tell a teacher whether they can move on to the next skill of if they need to reteach. There are different ways to assess students learning whether it is through an observation or a paper/pencil tasks. Students should be assessed in different ways to meet different learning styles. ~Caryn~ **

Caryn- i like the idea of using both observation and paper/pencil assessments. I have worked at some schools were they only do paper/pencil assessments. I would not do well personally on paper/pencil assessements because i am a visual learner and need to see objects or something. ~Tiaa

Assessment is nothing than trying to know what the students know or don't know about a particular subject. Teachers do it all the times to measure understanding of a lesson/skills taught. Students get a chance to know where they stand and what they need to do to be successful. Teachers also learn about the way they deliver their instruction and if the students are learning or not.-Mamadou

**It's also beginning to be used as a scare tactic. Assessments are starting to be less of a snapshot of what the student can do and instead what the teacher is doing WRONG! ~Christen**
 * In my experience, the word “assessment” is very standardized and basic. ALL students are graded under this rubric that doesn’t allow for special needs and/or any accommodations. Students are required to perform at a median level, and if they don’t meet that, they’re considered as low performing. ~JULI **

**My definition of asssessment is atool used to identify the strengthes and weakness of the students to alignnindividualized instruction. Denise** **I like the terms measurement and snapshot for the term assessment. Denise**

===**Assessment is a tool in the classroom. It is very important to be able to determine how much your students know and where they need to go. Assessments help to understand the different learning styles and therefore can be used to guide instruction. Tamika** ===

===**My definition of assessment is during the start of the school year determine what curriculm would be appropriate to teach the grade level you are working with. Since our school likes to teach students a grade level ahead I would only select lessons for the grades. Mid-semster I would test the students to see what they have learned along the way. Then once I week or when necessary the students will receive quizzes and random tests to see if something needs to be retaught. - Tajuanna** ===

** 4. What do you feel are the pros and cons of assessment in K12 settings?**
I don't see many pros to the current system, other than cost effectiveness. There are so many cons, that just when I think I've got a fairly comprehensive list, I think of something else. My big 3 are: 1. Not using test results properly. 2. Not testing as a base line (to see where the student needs help.) 3. Relying on testing as the be all and end all of measuring progress. ~Cheryl I feel that there are many pros and cons when it comes to assessing in the k12 setting. The pros are: being able to see what level a student is on, being able to see how a child's testing skills are and having the advantage to be able to place the child on or in a level that they can better learn. The cons are: not all test are fair, some children do not test well so therefore they get placed in lower class when they do not need to be. ~ Tiaa In my opinion,one of the cons for assessments is when teachers ONLY use them for grades and not all other observations and assignments to show what a student knows. Another con could be that assessments are not given according to a students learning strength. ~Caryn~

//**After reading the comments above i agree with the two of you. I feel like the test results are not used in the right way. I think that some children are not where they should be because of the fact that the results are used properly. Also i it could be a con for the children if the teachers use the assessments to give grades for what the student knows but could hurt for the student(s) that don't know anything. ~Tiaa **//

I agree with Tiaa. As a first grade teacher especially, fortunately testing is mostly used to show what level a student is on (letter/sound identification, phonemic awareness, reading text level...) I use a lot of informal observation. We also use rubrics to assess our student progress. I agree with the others that tests are over used. I believe it is a lazy way to say whether a child is "succeeding" or not. We need to get creative and testing needs to fit our students needs. It needs to be flexible. ~Christen


 * Cons: Encourage competition instead of collaboration among staff, no clear understanding of what a “good teacher” is, student learning is based “what’s on test” (no real learning) **

**The Pros to an assessment in K12 are** **It has a set way to identify needs in a standardized format.** **There are guides to address students with special needs.** **Wisconsin has set assessments and** **dates.**
 * Pros: **
 * Provides declined/inclined progress, gives parents information on student’s standardized form. **
 * ~JULI **
 * I agree with Juli. These are the 2 ways we deal with it in our district. -Mamadou **

__ **Cons** __ **The results are used in many harmful ways, such as to close schools, teacher salaries, advancements.** **The assessmeent can be misadministered and scue the results. Denise**

I think it's hard to define assessment for K-12 b/c assessment for primary is VERY different and sounds like it used VERY differently than assessments that are used in the upper elementary and intermediate grades. ~Christen

Pros - You will know where your students are and what needs to be worked on. A teacher can learn from there teaching skills through assessment.

cons - It may gave the child some type of anxiety. Hopefully, the child will not be judged on their ability based off of the assessment. - Tajuanna