RIFLI teachers use a variety of methods to
keep a pulse of classroom progress and student achievement—and of their own success as teachers. Many of these are quite informal—sometimes we even simply rely on our gut to tell us whether a
class is going well.
To
continue our discussion of various assessment activities in RIFLI classrooms, begun
in the last issue, we asked lead teachers to share some of the teacher self-assessment tools that they were using.
Julie
wrote to us describing some of the ways that she conducts teacher self assessment, informally, in Pawtucket:
I try to stay in touch with the students to be sure that classroom activities are as relevant to their lives as possible.
I do this informally with the whole group and I try to do it with all students individually, too. It's much harder
with very beginning students who can't communicate in English that well; sometimes Alejandra, our computer teacher, helps
me to communicate with the Spanish speakers in that group and a volunteer who speaks Portuguese also helps.
As far as
assessing the value of different classroom activities, I constantly ask for feedback and suggestions from students.
I try to create an atmosphere in which students feel free to contribute ideas and know that their opinions are valued.
Ed in Providence suggested a teacher self-assessment
tool that he has found useful:
The new teaching
logs that Pat O'Donnell introduced to the lead teachers have been a big help in this area. The four headings on the logs are:
Topics Covered; What Worked; What Didn’t; and What I Should Change. If we use this log on a per class basis, then we
can notice patterns in the kinds of activities that don't work, reflect on the reasons why they don't, and then make the appropriate
changes to our lesson plans.
The self-assessment survey on page three of this issue
offers teachers another tool to use to monitor their own strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. It is appropriate for
lead, computer and children’s teachers.
Self-assessment is just one layer of the assessment question.
Comprehensive classroom assessment includes teacher self-assessment, and student
self-assessment, external observations and measures, and both informal and formal methods and tools. It can be a daunting
prospect, but we may be doing more of it than we realize. In this and future issues, we will begin to look at some of the
specifics of assessment and to offer a variety of approaches and tools that you can use as you work to ensure that you and
your students reach your teaching and learning goals.
As we begin to explore this assessment question together,
take a few minutes to review the “quiz” below to help you sort out what does and does not serve the purpose of
informal classroom assessment:
These are all activities that took place at Washington
Park and Olneyville last semester.
Is it informal assessment?
Read the list below. If it is a form of informal assessment, choose yes. If you
believe the example is not a form of informal assessment, choose no.
1. Students
complete sample checks based on information given. YES NO
2. Students
read about common advertising tricks. YES
NO
3. Students
receive a report card from their teacher. YES
NO
4. Students
participate in a role play at a store. YES
NO
5. Students
take a CASAS test. YES NO
6. Students created an Excel spreadsheet to plan a healthy
daily menu. YES NO
Name the Objective
Read the list of assessment activities
below. Identify at least 2 learning objectives that might have been the basis
for these activities.
A. Students
created a flyer in Word
to advertise their own businesses.
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
B. Students
read a newspaper article, chosen by them, each week. They summarized the article
and orally shared it with a classmate.
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
C. Students wrote the directions for setting up an Excel spreadsheet.
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
