FIAE Abstract & Synthesis Chapter Three

Abstract

This chapter, titled Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom, spoke a lot about the different types of assessments and what to do and what not to do in helping students understand material. Many practicum students were skeptical of the idea of giving their students the end of the year exam on the first day. They think that it is only giving students an idea for the information they need to study for while blocking out the rest. Some other people, however, said that they would use this strategy because it gives them clear goals and guidelines of where they are going, and the essential ideas they will need to master. The students can show their knowledge by the three main types of assessments: pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments. There are many different styles to these assessments, and some people might prefer one over another. We need to make sure that there is meaning to the type of assessments we give students. It is also important that we provide the information to the students in such a way that they can all succeed.

Synthesis

It is the most helpful for students when there is meaning to the information we are giving them. If we give students a pre-assessment, be sure to tell them how they did (at some point), and why they took it. If you give students a formative assessment, explain to them why they are taking it and what they should take from it. We can see if the students are retaining the knowledge by testing them on similar material a couple weeks later. If their scores go down, we know that they are memorizing, not learning, and we need to adjust our teaching methods. Summative assessments have the worst reputation, and probably for good reason. At the end of the course, a big summative assessment is not used as a learning tool, only a tool to see how much students have learned. This is unlike the formative assessments where we can see what they have learned, and help them after the fact to get better on things they need to work on. Many students in here said that they would devise a different way to assess students because they did not like the typical “big test” at the end of the course. There are many other types of summative assessments that we can use other than the typical “big test.” Perhaps if we actually make an effort to have students enjoy what they will be tested on they will have a better understanding of the material. Allowing students to express their intelligences in different ways makes it so their knowledge is unveiled. We can also help students learn when we make sure that they understand their homework, and show them specifically what we want them to do. If they are unsure of the task, then they are more likely not to do it. If they do not do some of the homework assignments then they could miss out on key concepts that are essential to the class.