Assessment and NAPLAN

Element 3.1.5

Demonstrate knowledge and use of a range of strategies to assess student achievement of learning outcomes.

Assessment should take a cyclic form, ‘assess – plan – teach’ and so on. Unfortunately, many teachers leave assessment till the end of a program or unit of work. But just how does this benefit the students? Sure, it informs the teacher of what that student is capable of and where they are at, but then what? A lot of teachers just move on to another topic at that point. This however renders assessment useless. For what is the point of assessment if it is not used to inform further teaching?

Assessment should be used throughout a teaching program. In my teaching experience I have aimed to use a variety of assessment techniques, recognising that different situations allow children different ways to demonstrate their thinking (e.g. engaging children in dialogue, written work samples).

If there is one thing that has been emphasised throughout my four years of study it is that each child is different and in a class children should not be viewed as a group. Just because students are in the same year level does not mean that they are all at that level ability wise. Just as tasks should be created to cater to the different abilities and needs of the children so should assessment be provided which caters to the various learning needs in the classroom.

Providing varied assessment strategies reflects the understanding that each child has different ways of best demonstrating and representing their learning, provides more opportunities for children to reveal thought processes and understand, and hence demonstrates equity in the classroom. I feel that informal strategies of assessment perhaps allow more insight into the child’s ability to understand a concept. For instance, I believe that teacher observations of how students interact with resources and student discussion are more valuable than the results drawn from a NAPLAN test. Assessment results in an environment which children are more accustomed to brings forth much more valid results than a NAPLAN test would, or at least this is what I have observed so far in my practice.

In many ways, I feel that standardized testing such as NAPLAN puts children who do not perform well under pressure at a disadvantage. I’ve found in my own experience as a student, even throughout university and highschool that I perform better at some assessment tasks simply because I prefer certain types of assessment over others.

Considering all we know today about how different students express their ways of knowing based on their capabilities, I feel the NAPLAN is rather backwards. NAPLAN only utilises one method of assessing students, i.e. using timed paper and pencil tests. All teachers should know that there are a range of assessment strategies at our disposal, but the NAPLAN utlises only one. Perhaps it is out of convenience that NAPLAN uses this form of assessment, but I don’t think that it is an overly fair system of assessment for both the students and the teachers.

What it comes down to with assessment is does the assessment allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of certain concepts to the best of their ability? In my opinion, it does not.

The importance of voice care when teaching

Element 4: 

Teachers communicate effectively with their students - Effective communication and classroom discussion.

As teachers, our voices are perhaps our most important teaching tool. As such, it is important that we as teachers reduce risk factors which our voices are exposed to on a daily basis. Otherwise, we cannot comply with Element 4 of the NSW Institute of Teacher’s Professional Teaching Elements –

Element 4: Teachers communicate effectively with their students - Effective communication and classroom discussion.

During both of my primary block placements, I would find at the end of most days I would have a rather sore throat. I attributed this to the fact that I rarely spend a whole day talking and that my body was just having difficulty adjusting. At the end of the four weeks, my voice would be hoarse from four weeks of constant talking. On several of my pracs I have been left with no voice. Up until my voice assessment screening I thought that this was a normal occurrence which all teachers experienced.

I expected the speech pathologist to find nothing wrong with my voice (apart from the occasionaly shrillness of it which seems to run in my family). To my surprise, during my assessment screening I was informed by speech patholgist Vanessa, that when I speak I let out more air than normal. The result of this is a hoarse voice and occasionally a loss of voice when it is subject to a lot of strain. It was an odd revelation for me...to come to the realisation that something I had assumed was a normal occurrence could actually have large negative implications for the future of my career as a teacher. I can only say that this Voice Assessment came at a crucial time in my life, and thankfully I am aware of the problem now so that I can prevent further damage to my voice.
Vanessa suggested a variety of preventative strategies, including:
- Modifying the environment to reduce background noise
- Implementing attention seeking strategies which do not require me to raise my voice
- Drinking water regularly
- Ensuring the room is well lit so that students can gain information through my body language and facial expressions

- Refraining from throat clearing

I intend on implementing the above strategies as I continue to teach in order to prevent further damage or strain to my voice. However, if loss of voice becomes a regular occurrence Vanessa has suggested further diagnostic testing.

Voice Screening Assessment Report

Voice screening assessment report 01

Voice screening assessment report 02

Professional Teaching Practice - Time Management

Element 5.1.4
Provide clear directions for classroom activities and engage students in purposeful learning activities.


Effective time management is a necessary skill for all teachers. When planning, teachings need to consider how much time certain tasks will take, the time it takes to get students organised and time for instruction amongst other things.

During my most recent block placement, it was one of the things I most struggled with. I had never had a Year 5 class before, so I was uncertain of what they were capable of, how long it would take to complete certain tasks, how much time I should spend on explanation, how to efficiently distribute resources or how I could best monitor student movement. As a result, for the first few days of my block placement I found that I planned too much for a single lesson, so that when the 50 minutes the students did not have sufficient time to complete the task, so this would have to carry on to next lesson. 

This was an issue which I regularly discussed with my colleague teacher. The strategies my colleague teacher suggested where:

- Always keep an eye on the time

- Allocate certain time for instruction/explanation – don’t go over

- Have resources available for students to access easily

- Don’t over plan

- Wear a watch

- Post bell times near the clock (bell times varied from day to day)

Colleague teacher comments
(Click to enlarge)

a) As a result of poor time management, occasionally the bell would ring while we were still working inside, meaning that we would have to rush through the end of the lesson.


b) When students were engaged in a task that required them to be out of their seats, working in groups or using a variety of resources, meaning that sufficient time would be required to pack away materials, sometimes students were not given enough warning, so did not have time to finish what they were doing.










To improve my teaching practice and meet Element 5.1.4, I implemented the strategies recommended by my teacher. Evidence of improved practice is available in the lesson evaluation comments by my colleague teacher below.


After getting to know the students and what they were capable of, I was able to plan to make the most of the 50 minute lessons. I became more succinct with my instructions, and I spread resources throughout the room so that students could access them easily and quickly. I ensured students were on task as soon as possible, awarding students who were ready first table points as positive reinforcement. More evidence is below.

Colleague teacher comments
(Click to enlarge)

c) Evidence that after implementing the recommended strategies my time management skills have improved.


d) To help me keep track of time and remember what time the bell would ring, I posted the bell times near the clock. This helped because it was a constant reminder for me to keep watch of the time.
e) When planning lessons, I modified my teaching practices so that I did not spend too much time on instruction, by being more succinct and providing task cards which provided an explanation.


f) This comment demonstrates that I considered time management by warning students so that they had sufficient time to complete their work and pack away.


With more experience, I became more competent in managing time so that both I and my students could maximise the time to get the most out of the lessons. Thanks to this learning curve in my life, I emerged as a teacher who is able to manage time effectively and have met Element 5.1.4 of the NSW Institute of Teachers Professional Teaching Standards.




Just in case you struggle with Time Management, here are 10 Helpful Tips for Effective Time Management in the Classroom. 

ICT and Technology in the primary classroom

Element 4.1.5

Use a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT and other technologies to foster interest and support learning

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob children of tomorrow”

John Dewey.

Children in today's society have grown up immersed in a world of technology. This includes the internet, iPads, iPods, computers, cameras, smart phones, social network sites and video games). As a result, students think and process information differently from previous generations, i.e. their thinking patterns have changed. This has many implications for educators. According to Prensky (2001, p.1), “today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”

Five reasons why educators need to embrace internet technologies.

As teachers, we must become familiar with the technology that children are engaging with so that we are able to incorporate it into the learning environment. Technology is the key to making learning more interesting and relevant for children today.

Benefits of incorporating ICT into the classroom:

Technology has changed the face of all classrooms. Through the use of technology, students can engage in self-directed tasks. This places the teacher in the role of the mediator and facilitator. However, teachers must know when explicit teaching is required, and when practical or concrete materials are more appropriate. I believe that an ideal classroom would have an appropriate balance of all important elements, depending on the needs and capabilities of the students.

Students of all abilities are able to engage with educational technology. When students master such skills, their self-esteem improves and they become motivated to improve their performance. From my own practical experience, I observed that students were more motivated with tasks that involved some form of technology.

Through the integration of interactive technology such as the internet, GPS devices and Google earth, students are able to witness first handedly how learning within the classroom relates to the real world. 

Booker et al (2010) suggests that teachers incorporate ICT skills so that when students are faced with new technologies, they will be able to take advantage of them.

How I have used ICT in the classroom:

To assist in teaching the topic of position in math to Year 1 students, I created an interactive whiteboard resource. The students were quite competent in using the interactive whiteboard. I created the resource with a range of activities, providing opportunity for immediate feedback in some activities. I designed the resource so that it was mostly self-explanatory, so that teacher direction would not be necessary. The great thing about working with an interactive whiteboard is that student responses can be saved in a separate document. There has been a space provided at the end of the document for students to record their names (which could perhaps be used as assessment).

You can download this resource and others which I have created at the link below:

Interactive whiteboard resources.

Do you want to be one of those teachers that are "out of the loop"?

How I plan on using ICT in the classroom:


I have only recently considered the possibilities of using social networking mediums (e.g. twitter, blogging) in the classroom. I found these great ideas by searching what others had posted about technology in the classroom through “Google blog". 

TWITTER-

28 creative ways teachers are using twitter - This site offers some great ideas on using twitter to engage students in learning and encouraging contribution, but perhaps it is a more appropriate teaching tool for students in upper primary.

Calendar for scheduled educational twitter chats - Keeping educators in the loop by keeping track of educational twitter chats. Great way to connect with other educators throughout the globe around a variety of topics.

BLOGGING - 

I came across this video posted on the classroom blog of two primary school teachers in Victoria, who I follow on Twitter. There's only one word to describe the work of these teachers - inspirational. A great example of how blogging can be used to meet learning outcomes, the benefits of blogging and samples of student work which clearly demonstrate how their skills have developed. All teachers could learn a thing or two from this video. 
Visit their class blog here.

'FAKEBOOK' - 

Get your students to make a ‘Fakebook’ profile about someone or something. A great tool to use to follow a personal interest or to create a character profile.
Create a 'Fakebook' profile

Look to the right panel of my blog for other great sites to keep teachers up to date about technology integration in the classroom.

REFERENCES:


Booker, G., Bond, D., Sparrow, L. & Swan, P (2010). Teaching Primary Mathematics. Frenchs Forest: Pearson

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5), p.1 – 6.