UbDDI+B1+Chapter+5

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Abstract-

 * This chapter focused largely, on the principles of quality assessment in the classroom. There are three basic ways to assess students’ learning and understanding of lessons taught in class. One of the most important things to remember when assessing, is, to provide students with options, because like the way they learn (multiple intelligences), students also reflect their knowledge and understanding in different ways. It doesn’t make sense for a teacher to allow students to work within the intelligence of their best ability, and then use a standardized test to find out what they know because it defeats the whole purpose of differentiation. The second principle states that assessments should match the objectives that were laid out before actually studying the topic. Pre-assessment is also key in determining how much a student understands, because teachers can use the result of the pre-assessment in comparison with the results of the final assessment and every assessment in between. Doing so allows teachers to see each student’s growth over the course of the unit. One final aspect of this chapter that is important for every teacher to know is the difference between understanding and knowing. When a student knows something, they have memorized mere “things”, and when a student understands something, they are able to apply their knowledge in a variety of different ways. Assessments are most effective when they test a student’s understanding of concepts. **

[|Amy's Synthesis-]
A common theme among almost all of our summaries was realizing the difference between KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING, as well as how certain [|assessments] determine what students know, and other assessments determine what students understand. Many of us agreed that the first step before teaching a lesson is to [|pre-assess] students, to find out what they understand about what is being taught. The importance of pre-assessing is, to know where to start teaching the lesson, what modifications are necessary, how can the lesson be made more challenging, etc. Also, assessment scores should be used at the end of each lesson or unit to determine growth. Another way to accurately assess growth is to assess students at multiple points throughout the course of the lesson, and see if students are meeting the objectives, and if not, what can be done to “fix” the lessons. Finally, we also agree that the [|six facets] of understanding are key to success in the classroom, and are very much valid. Before assessing students (for grading purposes), teachers should answer each of the [|six facets] regarding the topic at hand. The six facets show teachers that understanding can be broken down into six distinct categories, and for students learn, teachers should know [|how] to teach using those facets. If a teacher doesn’t understand something, how can students be expected to understand something.

Amy CH. 5
How can a teacher tell if her students are learning and understanding that, which is being taught? The answer is less than simple, because there is not just one way to find evidence of learning. One way of assessing knowledge and understanding is guided by the three Principles of Effective Assessment. First off, an assessment is truly reliable when multiple sources are used as evidence of learning. Some students might struggle with multiple-choice tests because they provide options, but that does not mean the student does not understand the material. Instead, it might mean that the student can explain what they learned using words, like you would find in a report. The second principle states that, assessments should match the goals set prior to studying the topic. The goals should “dictate” way the assessment is performed. The second principle also brings up the whats, hows, and whys of understanding versus knowing. Knowing has been defined as declarative (either you know something or you don’t), while understanding, is being able to apply what you know to other contexts. There are six facets of Understanding, which describe how students reveal understanding. When a teacher understands the six facets, the will be able to accurately identify when a student understands something. The third, and final principle discusses the purpose of assessing. The results are typically used to indicate the level of learning a student/s has accomplished, as well as, to evaluate the instructor’s teaching capabilities. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve maximum performance. It is also important to pre-assess so there is comparable evidence to display improvement. By offering students a variety of assessment (options), the teacher will also be achieving differentiated teaching tasks.

Jennifer
Chapter 5 UbDDI

When it comes to assessing students I agree with Dr. Michael Kean who stated that, “Multiple measures are essential because no one test can do it all. Therefore, no test, no matter how good it is, should be the sole criterion for any decision.” There should be many types of assessments given to students throughout the year rather than having one big test at the end. I do not think test should be given at all, especially multiple choice tests because these only show how much random information students memorized and not their thought process and how they can apply their knowledge to new situations, which I believe is more important. Of the list of assessments given I think that oral performances, visual products, journals, and any assessment that can be given in different ways are the most effective because every student does not test alike. The GRASPS frame features many great ideas for creating assessments, like the ones I listed, which I think will really help me see what my students understand from my teaching. In the end being able to assess in many different ways and making assessments that actually mean something will help my students and me.

Darren
In the fifth chapter, the author writes that "The fact that the term //understand// can be used in such diverse ways has led some researchers and educators to decry its use in framing goals" (p.66). I had never considered looking at **understanding** this way, and to a point, it makes sense. However, the way that it makes sense is unsuitable to apply in a classroom setting. The idea of understanding in this quote makes the term diverse and adaptable, and the educators who say it decries the process of creating goals in a class are saying that diversity limits a classroom.

This is obviously wrong.

Educators who feel that understanding makes achieving and creating classroom goals difficult are right, but this is not as negative as the quote suggests. This is not as black-and-white as it suggests, either. It **can** be difficult, but this depends on the teacher. In fact, I would argue that creative teachers see understanding as the goal. I think more teachers should seek out this set of ideals. Understanding should not be considered in framing goals, but it should be the goal to begin with.

Cassandra
In this chapter, the different types of assessments are addressed. An idea that I thought was just wonderful was giving students a variety of options for each assignment. I think I will create a list of explanations of the different options: researched essay, movie, lesson plan, make believe interview, etc. Then I will create rubrics for each project idea. The kids would have to pick a project for each unit we do, each different. This way the students can choose what they want to do when and won't be handicapped by a certain type of project. Projects are more likely to show the ideas of the books being understood -- not just remembering random facts. The separate rubrics would help with the different obstacles each project runs into. I can't correct a a written interview the same way I do an oral presentation. If a student decides to do an oral presentation then they will be expected to keep eye contact and be enthusiastic. While the written interview would have to be grammatically correct and organized. Yet both would have to show the students //grasp// of the units information.

Brian
Chapter five is all about effective assessment. Without assessment, we are without one of the most important utilities in education. Through assessment, we can determine progress, which after all is what we are striving for. The chapter speaks about how to properly assess. To properly asses, we must have a plethora of differentiated evidence in all the facets of learning styles. We must also know how and why we are using the assessments. Our assessments can not only show us students understanding (we’ll get back to that), it can also assess our teaching methods, if an entire class struggled with one portion of a particular assessment, we can deduce that the part of our lesson in question needs to be repaired. Students understanding is a huge part of assessment, we need to be sure that we are teaching the methods, big ideas, and the application of our content. For a math teacher like myself, it would be similar to make sure that a student understands that, when multiplying you are using repeated addition to find your answer, instead of making the kids memorize that 9 x 5= 45. Understanding, and applying is one of the biggest parts in the assessment plan.

George
Chapter 5 This chapter addressed the critical topic of assessment. It stressed the importance of using multiple sources to try and assess whether students got what is being instructed. It also criticised standardized testing for narrowing curriculum and stealing valuable time that could be used to teach more understanding, a view that I very much agree with. It also touched other things that we had already seen in class, the six facets of understanding and building lesson plans with the goal in mind from the beginning. Assessment is one of the most important parts of our jobs as educators.

Sean
Chapter 5 So this chapter is about assessment and how a teacher can learn how much a student has really learned. One big thing for me in this chapter is the criticism it had for standardized testing. It forces the teacher to base their content and lessons around a test that, in the end, doesn't really teach too much. Teachers need to be able to teach without having to follow a guideline set up by someone else who thinks they know how to assess a students' success. It also talks about the six facets of understanding and talks about building lesson plans with a final endgame in mind from the get-go. It also talks about the diversity of term //understanding// and how it can, supposedly, hold back learning in the classroom. Since diversity is about as helpful as the diversity and imagination of the teacher and the students, this statement is false. Diversity can help open new perspectives and options for students, allowing for even deeper understanding of the content.

Dan
In chapter five we learn that assessment has three separate but equal and connected parts. The parts start off with how we should assess students. Of course this is in variety of ways but it tries to keep us away from just one way. Standardized tests would be one picture but all the ways would be a photo album. Don't just focus on the small picture. The second piece is taking that photo album and organizing it. This means we need to use the correct assessment with the corresponding goal we are trying to teach. For example some type of presentation is not needed to show a student understand and has knowledge of the times tables. The final part is summed up with assessment used along the way. It is important to gain student knowledge before and during the lessons. This way a teacher can get an understanding of how well they are doing.

Ethan
This chapter touches on the principles of assessment in the classroom. This is something that can not only be difficult, but determine whether or not you are a good teacher. In this section they give you some basic guidelines for proper assessment as well as ways to ensure you get the best possible performance from your students. One important point is that multiple types of assessment give you as a teacher the truest results from your students. This means not just giving a test, but possible also doing a lab that my count as a test grade to ensure the multiple learning styles are all properly assessed. Also it is important to make sure students understand the difference between just knowing something and having an understanding of a subject. I also thought it was a good idea to get a general background of where the students are at in the beginning of the year so by the end of the year you can re assess them and get a better idea of the progress made. These are all keys to assessment that I will use in my classroom as a math teacher.

Andy
Reading through this the big thing that stuck out to me was within the assessment principle 2 section. The explanation of the three types of education goals was the part that jumped out. The first one is declarative knowledge. This is summed up as what the student knows. Examples would be for quizzes that are more geared for recall type of questions (multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, etc.). The second type is procedural knowledge. This type is based around what the student should be able to do. These are best demonstrated by some sort of performance type of assessment (a proof in math, building a bird house in shop, or knowledge of rules in a game by playing in PE). The third type is disposition. This type is defined as what the attitudes the students gain or habits gained. These are tested or assessed over time. Where the other two can be assessed at any time disposition can be examined through portfolios or self-assessments.

Damian
Chapter 5, UBD/DI The most astute question came within four lines of this chapter. I must admit that I had already judged the chapter in the three lines prior it and nearly resolved this would be another common-sense chapter droning on about practical pedagogy. But no! The question was asked: //How can assessment promote learning, not simply measure it?// What a question…imagine a world where students took a test that didn’t give them a feeling of dread or satisfaction, but rather, furthered an inherent curiosity about the subject matter. It is indeed a very interesting concept. Additionally, the chapter cites the differences in the definition for the rather amorphous word ‘understanding’. To truly understand, the authors contest that six criteria must first be met. I would tend to agree save for one concept: empathy. Does one truly have to empathize with a subject or point of contention to understand it?

Liz Ch 5 UBDDI
Chapter five focuses on five main things. The first is that learning occurs over time and therefore cannot be seen in one "snapshot" but in a combination of a bunch of "snapshots". This is a photo album of learning that students will compile. The second is to know what teachers want students to know and how it applies in our educational goals. There are three standard goals: declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and dispositions. Each one speaks to a different section of uses in relation to life skills. In order to assess this teachers should use the GRASPS design to have a way to understand the performance of students. The fourth section the chater focuses on is the question, for what purpose do we assess. The question refers to who will see the assessment, the reason behind our assesment, what we are assessing, and in what way will the results be used. The final section is about how a teacher should implement sucessful assessment to process learning in the classroom. The section regards asking the students about the topic prior to introuduction, the ability to have choice, the chance for feedback through out the process, and a chance to reflect upon your own work.

Zackary
This chapter discussed how to grade a student on not whether they have right or wrong answers. Instead this chapter discusses on how to be able to make sure the students understand the key facts, not just say what they learned verbatim. While giving an assement I should always give a wide array of different types of assement material. I should also realize teaching is not just about teaching to the test, I also must realize that their are other ways to judge whether a student knows the material. A student taking a multiple choice exams does not actually understand the material at hand. In this chapter, I also learned about the GRASPS system for how to teach a student.

Josh
Chapter 5 discussed how learning can be measured with assessment. Assessing students tells the teacher what the student learned, how they can adjust their curriculum to be effective to students of multiple learning styles, among other things. They are equally important in determining things for teachers as they are for students. There are three key principles that should guide classroom assessment: photo albums versus snapshots, match the measures with goals, and form follows function. An important part of the chapter I believed was in principle 1: consider photo albums versus snapshots. It talked a lot about how one test does not say a lot about what was really learned. “In other words, reliable assessment demands multiple sources of evidence” (UbD page 60). The article went on to say that giving a single test is less likely to provide a full picture of what a student learned as opposed to diverse sources of evidence is. It is okay to give a standardized test because of what the results do show, the real problem being when using the results of one test to make “high-stakes decisions”. Effective assessments do not only measure students but help them in becoming evaluators of their own learning.