Thursday, June 27, 2019

High-Leverage Practice 4: Assessment


I am going to discuss High-Leverage Practices as mentioned on the CEC website organized around four aspects of practice. I hope you will join in the conversation!

“HLP4 - Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs.”

I was never very good at taking tests. I would have test anxiety and even though I knew the material I would do terrible on tests. I know that many of my students feel the same way. This is a good reason to use multiple sources to understand my student’s strengths and needs.

Many of my students might not be able to express themselves well enough in writing to show their understanding of the material. Even though they might understand the major concepts, they may not be able to show you this in the written word.

Others might be able to regurgitate facts and figures but that doesn’t really show their understanding of the material. It just shows their ability to memorize things even if they don’t understand the major concepts.

I like to give several options for students to choose from in order to show their understanding of the material I teach. This is important to share these options at the beginning of the lesson so students can be thinking about them as they work through the material.

Some students might like making something with their hands while others might enjoy creating a song or dance to show their understanding. Others might like to act out an important scene. There are so many creative ways to assess a student’s understanding of the material!

I like to allow the students to choose several options so they can do something that interests them as well as focusing on something that they feel is a strength for them. This also helps them be more self-aware of their abilities and interests. Students also enjoy feeling like they have some control over their learning.

What ways do you assess your students? Please share.







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