#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Good evening, #RuralEdChat I'm a former classroom teacher and school library media specialist who is back in grad school for mental health counseling and working in youth programs in a public library. Happy New Year to all!
I'm Matt, your humble moderator for the evening. I'm a software developer by day, but volunteer as a Computer Science instructor and teacher trainer in WA. #RuralEdChat
A1: I think a successful assessment provides students the opportunity to show what they've learned in a way that's meaningful to them. More than just fill in the bubbles. #RuralEdChat
A1 I'm assessing things a little differently now in libraryland, but I'd say a successful assessment measures whatever you're targeting in learning as authentically as possible. #ruraledchat
A1: In my view, an assessment needs to help me learn about my students knowledge and/or help my students learn about their own knowledge (or at least, their knowledge relative to my expectations of it) #RuralEdChat
CanB diagnostic (looking 4 baselines & a basis 4 big pic planning) or inspecting SMART expectations 4 milestone & completion results, i.e. were expectations met or not & how do you use that data 4 mid-stream planning, resetting expectations, supporting, & motivating. #ruraledchat
I think this comment is a good lead in to a discussion about alternative assessments, the core philosophy of which I believe to be letting students show what they know their way. #ruraledchat
A1.1 I guess I think back to teaching readers, and rather than looking at how much fact recall students could pull from a piece of text, I cared more about how they interacted with it through conversation, writing, annotating, responding with art, etc. #RuralEdChat
A2: I think an authentic assessments provide more than just a regurgitation of the facts, but also an opportunity to apply skills to show real learning. #RuralEdChat
A1.1: I think authentic assessments have to involve a lot more "show" than "tell". Sometimes that's essays or projects in place of multiple choice or fill in the blank. (Though, no all projects are created equal) #RuralEdChat
Working in that much "show" time involves changing how you use it - it has to be a learning opportunity for all of the students. Peer review and feedback is a classroom culture that needs to be built to be able to spend that much time on it #RuralEdChat
Do you call those CFUs? We called mid-flow checks CFUs - checks for understanding. I'm lower grade (K-3), so well-planned questions PLUS dry-erase boards are KEY. Checking for understanding along the way. Trying to be nimble & responsive. TRYING. #ruraledchat
How do you support students working on an assessment project? I had several that never turned in even one part of the project. Spoke with students, parents, etc. #RuralEdChat
& speaking of crucial well-planned Qs, what are you guys looking at when you implement your plan? What's your source of prompts for you? What do you use? Full lesson plans? Curriculum TGs? Outlines? Sticky notes? Digital? #ruraledchat
Ha, I really like this term over CFU - I've redirected entire classes halfway through based on the answers (and non-answers) I've gotten. As it should be. #RuralEdChat
I typically start with a curriculum, and modify as needed from there - sometimes drastically. My classes tend to move a lot more slowly than the "suggested" pacing, especially in intro coding, since I think I often have more low/no tech students than the focus groups #RuralEdChat
I also try to modify assessments as much as possible - I really favor projects over tests as much as I can (so much so that the advanced course I'm running this year doesn't even have tests!) #RuralEdChat
I work with my other volunteer and our classroom teacher to write most of those. We start by asking a similar thing to Q1: what does success mean on this project? We lean a lot more towards approaches problem breakdown over "did the code work" 1/?#RuralEdChat
A3: That's the question for me tonight. I wish they would look at the feedback I give before moving forward to the next unit. Even when I require the reflection, I don't see them really taking it in. They just seem to look for a grade. #RuralEdChat
For student projects, they have to write a proposal of what they're going to do, and we give feedback and can guide them to add certain features/components we think we get them to use certain concepts. 2/2 #RuralEdChat
I think this can apply broadly, at least in STEM - science experiments that get them to collect specific additional data that will use a particular process. Math analysis that requires application of certain algorithms. etc. 3/3 (last one I swear) #RuralEdChat
A2 (though I think I goofed the numbering with that 1.1 question): Wherever possible, students have the chance (and usually expectation) to review my feedback, make corrections, and resubmit. I like to think it emphasizes work and improvement over 1 shot success #RuralEdChat
I know some of the assessments that I did worst on as a student also were ones where I couldn't ever improve on them. The test happened, the unit was over, done until a sliver of the final. So I gave up learning that part of the material #RuralEdChat
A2 if it looks & smells like a test, it's hard for some to get motivated. If assessment is embedded in learning or takes the form of something tangible, motivation may be easier to come by.Operative word is *might.* Academic achievement is not universally motivating #RuralEdChat
Q4 (number reset!): I want to dive further into the really hard cases of Q3 - How do you address students who do not complete an assessment or respond to feedback? #RuralEdChat
A4: I've tried to provide as many options as possible. Students can always resubmit after seeing feedback, but sometimes there is a hard deadline (like end of term/semester). #RuralEdChat
A4: I do about the same. I take resubmissions, as long as the student communicates with me about it. Weeks of silence then an ask for a re-grade is often a no-go (which we repeat with every assignment) #RuralEdChat
Trotting out mgmt theory here, Situational Leadership would suggest drilling down further, both in terms of task and assessment. Are the students able to access & process the feedback? Are they unwilling to access & process the feedback? & why? #ruraledchat
A4, part 2: I also talk with those students one on one if at all possible. There's usually something going on in their life that's making their school life difficult. That often can help retarget expectations #RuralEdChat
Going big pic...do the students have motivation to improve (via feedback or not)? Are they motivated to succeed in the class & content? Are they checking off the attendance & minimum participation boxes? Do they have goal & task agreement? #ruraledchat
Yes! In a couple years of helping teach, I've definitely gotten better at giving feedback, which often starts with asking some more questions #RuralEdChat
As one does. #RuralEdChat Wait...which makes me think a moment here... the (K-3) kids who draw me to focus on the negatives (lack of participation, for example, behaviors) are usually the ones craving attention & control for reasons. #ruraledchat
A4 For some humans, just showing up is a Herculean task. Compassion, understanding, and consistently showing up on our end to help them when they are ready matters. #RuralEdChat
I'd also ask: how much can you, as the teacher, make adjustments to your side of the equation to align goals? Obviously there's a limit, but sometimes, some changes to how students can work and demonstrate knowledge will get them much more comfortable and committed. #RuralEdChat
