Running Head: ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

Analysis of Student Work Brittany Carlovsky University of Nevada, Las Vegas April 29th, 2013

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Student Background

For this particular project I used my second/ third period English Language Arts block. This class is an hour and forty minutes and the teacher combines both reading and English together. This class is non- accelerated and has a wide combination of motivated, unmotivated, intelligent and low students. I chose this class because I see them for majority of the time I am at Silvestri and I know these students the best. Most of these students are very bright; they are either at grade level or even above. I base this, and my sub groups, off of their results of the most recent Discovery tests, which are done through the district. There are a few students who are emergent or approaching grade level based off the same tests, but in my opinion those students are also bright kids, but they are very lazy and I do not think they care. This class has more students who just dont care or have behavior issues rather than intelligence issues. But even then, out of the whole class, I would say only about 2 or 3 are completely unmotivated or just dont care. I think that overall, Mrs. Rickards, has a great class full of very bright kids, but it would be much easier to teach them if they cared a little more about their education.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Sub Group Charts

Student Name Jaediel Michelle Miguel Mia Joshua Kaeden Sage Jaleah Jacob Zach Dylan Julie Ashley Alexis Marissa Faith Amber M Amber Q Vivianna Alex Gabriel Graciella Serling Jeremiah Jon- Michael Isaiah Alexandar Luke Litzandro Alan

Female X

Male X X

Emergent DT

Approaching DT

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Meets DT X X X X

Exceed DT

Unmotivated

X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Sub group strategies and example Categories Males Strategy Explanation and example

Increase use of graphics, When doing writing assignments or teaching pictures and story boards the parts of speech using pictures to (Stevens and Gurian, 2010) represent the parts of speech would help them retain the information being taught because many males are visual learners. Example: If we were teaching nouns, printing and showing pictures of noun examples would help reinforce the topic. Provide Competitive learning When teaching a topic, using game or goal environment (Stevens and oriented activities can really help engage Gurian, 2010) males in learning. Example: If you are teaching parts of speech then you can play games, such as charades to teach or reinforce verbs. Allow males to choose what When a teacher provides downtime or if they read and write at least 50% there is any kind of extra time in the of the time (Stevens and Gurian, classroom after a test or assignment then 2010) allowing males and all students to choose what they read will encourage them to read. With this, teachers should also provide reading artifacts like comic books, graphic novels and sports related articles would also be engaging for the students. Example: When student take tests they all finish at different paces. When students finish, encourage them to choose from your library of different fun things to read. Provide high expectations Many times teachers want to nurture girls (Anderson, Brooks and Reavis) rather than focus on having high expectations but this can be a great disservice to those students. Example: On each assignment given, be sure to clearly explaining the instructions so the students know what is expected and then be sure to keep those expectations during the assignment and after the assignment when grading it- dont vary the way you grade something.

Females

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

Use cooperative learning and Allow and encourage students to work in group work (Anderson, Brooks groups when working on certain and Reavis) assignments. Girls work well in groups and this would encourage them to work hard and efficiently. Example: When assigning a project or review test allow students to work independently and then work in groups to collaborate and discuss their answers. Provide and overview and clear Typically females want to know what the instructions on assignments big picture of an assignment is rather than (Anderson, Brooks and Reavis) the tiny details. They typically want to know what is due overall and what they need to have. Example: Explain the expectations (as mentioned before) and provide a list of things that they will need to have done on the board. Provide small group instruction on a weekly basis during independent work time to discuss anything they might be confused on from that week. Make notes on who is behind on what, and offer time before and after school to help catch that student up.

Emergent on Design small group instruction Discovery Testing

Example: A group of students are struggling with their punctuation when writing. Meet with this group to discuss what they need more help on and what they are still not sure about. Once you have a good idea then go over a few mini lessons on punctuation as a group. Identify the exact areas they are By identifying the exact areas the students struggling in and provide extra are struggling in, the teacher will know work or alternative work exactly what the student needs to be reviewing and working on. Example: Provide alternative homework or extra homework to try and catch them up with the rest of the class. Have student write their own Allow the students to see what areas they goals and then provide rewards need more work on and with that for reaching those goals information have them create short term and long term goals to become up to speed with

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

6 grade level content. When they reach their goals then allow them to receive a prize, reward or incentive to encourage them to keep working hard. Example: Have a student make a goal for his or her writing- I would like to use proper grammar and punctuation on my essays written for class and I would like to reach that goal by _____ date. If the student reaches the goal then he/ she can choose from a list of prizes. Provide small group instruction on a weekly basis during independent work time to discuss anything they might be confused on from that week. Make notes on who is behind on what, and offer time before and after school to help catch that student up.

Approaching Design small group instruction Standards on Discovery Testing.

Example: A group of students are struggling with their punctuation when writing. Meet with this group to discuss what they need more help on and what they are still not sure about. Once you have a good idea then go over a few mini lessons on punctuation as a group. Identify the exact areas they are By identifying the exact areas the students struggling in and provide extra are struggling in, the teacher will know work or alternative work exactly what the student needs to be reviewing and working on. Example: Provide alternative homework or extra homework to try and catch them up with the rest of the class. Have student write their own Allow the students to see what areas they goals and then provide rewards need more work on and with that for reaching those goals information have them create short term and long term goals to become up to speed with grade level content. When they reach their goals then allow them to receive a prize, reward or incentive to encourage them to keep working hard. Example: Have a student make a goal for his or her writing- I would like to use proper grammar and punctuation on my essays

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

written for class and I would like to reach that goal by _____ date. If the student reaches the goal then he/ she can choose from a list of prizes. Utilize outside resources Find activities and alternative lessons/ Meeting Standards on (Davidson Institute for Talent activities for those students who have Development, 2003) already mastered the standard doing that Discovery lesson. Testing and Exceeding Example: If the student has already mastered standards on parts of speech- have that student play a fun discovery game on the computer or at their desk that Testing still reinforces parts of speech but is also fun for them. Assign them as mentors (Ying, For this I would assign these high achieving 2012) students as mentors to lower students. They would be there to help when they were finished with their work. For example: If we were working on an a individual essay or project, then the students who I assigned as mentors would be expected to go around and quietly assist those that are struggling. This is will help them stay motivated Have student write their own Allow the students to see what areas they goals and then provide rewards would like to improve upon or work harder for reaching those goals on and with that information have them create short term and long term goals to ensure they stay at or above grade level or even exceed! When they reach their goals then I would allow them to receive a prize, reward or incentive to encourage them to keep working hard. Example: Have a student make a goal for his or her writing- I would like to improve on my proper grammar and punctuation on my essays written for class and I would like to reach that goal by _____ date. If the student reaches the goal then he/ she can choose from a list of prizes. When teaching, in order to foster intrinsic motivation, providing activities that are real life topics or relevant to student lives can help engage and motivate students to work

Unmotivated Students

Make it Real (Ragan, 2011)

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

Use hands on learning (Ragan, Using hands on activities can help engage 2011) students as well as keep their attention throughout a lesson. Keeping them alert and keeping their attention can also help motivate them to want to learn Example: When teaching plays or playwrights. Use an actual play and have the students act it out before doing to the next thing planned with it. Acting it out can get them up and moving in the classroom but it will also keep them interested and engaged. Break the cycle of Help motivate students who may not be as discouragement and alienation motivated the classroom as desired by using (Chapin, 2012) positive attitudes and positive reinforcement at all time in the classroom. Example: If a student who you consider unmotivated shows interest in a topic, is on task or participates during a lesson be sure to provide lots of relevant and appropriate positive reinforcement and feedback to hopefully encourage that student to continue.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Unit 9 Vocabulary Test

Student Name Jaediel Michelle Miguel Mia Joshua Kaeden Sage Jaleah Jacob Zach Dylan Julie Ashley Alexis Marissa Faith Amber M Amber Q Vivianna Alex Gabriel Graciella Serling Jeremiah Jon Isaiah Alex Luke Litzandro Alan

Female Male X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Emergent DT

Approaching DT

Meets DT X X X X

Exceeds DT

Unmotivated

Scores (x/20) 18 18

X X

16 20 15 13 Ab

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X

Ab Ab Ab 16 20 19 20 18 19 17 17 17 15 17 20

17 20 20 17 17

15 17 16

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK UNIT 9 Vocabulary Test Problem # 2 Question Objective/ Standards L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and # of student correct 23 # of students incorrect 5

10

Names

Write the letter of the word that is closest in meaning to the capitalized word CONTRACT A) Expand B) Shrink C) Lengthen D) Begin Write the letter of the word that is closest in meaning to the capitalized word MERCY A) Appreciation B) Kindness C) Messiness D) Thanklessness Write the letter of the word that is closest in meaning to the capitalized word CLASSIFY A) Uncover B) Study C) Group D) Move For each sentence write the letter of the word or phrase that is the closest meaning to the word (s) in italics It takes and

Alex, Alan, Dylan, Gabriel and Isaiah

22

Amber M, Luke, Serling, Michelle. Vivianna and Kaeden

14

14

Jaediel, Amber M, Alex, Alan, Amber Q, Luke, Jon, Serling, Jaleah, Lucas, Isaiah, Miguel and Joshua

27

11

Amber M, Alan, Amber Q, Ashley, Serling, Joshua, Gabriel, Isaiah, Vivianna, Kaedan and Jaleah

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK EXCEPTIONAL person to meet the demands of working with mentally handicapped children A) A sensitive B) An understanding C) A remarkable D) A physically strong For each sentence write the letter of the word or phrase that is the closest meaning to the word (s) in italics The patientss EXTREME pain prompted him to ask a nurse for medication A) Very great B) Decreasing C) Unfortunate D) Occasional For each sentence write the letter of the word or phrase that is the closest meaning to the word (s) in italics In science class we learned that GRAVITY causes objects to have weight A) Size B) Heaviness context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies

11

11

L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies

20

Alan, Amber Q, Marisa, Michelle, Gabriel, Litzandro and Jaleah

13

L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies

24

Jaediel, Faith, Miguel and Joshua

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK C) Air pressure D) The natural downward force Write the letter that bests fits the situation describes in the sentence - Hydroelectricityelectricity made from water powercan be used to heat factories and buildings Write the letter that bests fits the situation describes in the sentence The Browns decided to increase the number of stores they owned from two to four

12

14

18

L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple- meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and context, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies

23

Dylan, Luke, Joshua, Kaeden and Jaleah

25

Dylan, Kaeden and Jaleah

Re-teach Strategies - Meet with small group for the students who received a failing grade on the assignment - Review the unit and words with the students - Use a vocabulary game to review words - Add common missed words to next weeks vocabulary list

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Unit 9 Vocabulary Re- Teach Strategies

13

On this test, most of the students received a C or higher and only two students received a D or F. The two students who received D or F on this test were amongst the emergent and approaching (Discovery Test) sub groups and their score on this assignment definitely reflects their score on the discovery test. These students do not have a vast vocabulary, and this could have set them back on their testing. With that being said, the remaining 26 students still missed a few questions here and there. Going through this assignment, it occurred to me that the students were missing the same questions consistently, which were numbers 5, 9 and 11. To re-teach and reinforce these words that were missed, I would go over the missed words as a class and add on those missed words to the next unit of vocabulary to help ensure that all students are having an opportunity to really learn those words. For example the students struggled with the work classify. Therefore, I would add on classify to next weeks vocabulary words to make sure it really gets learned this week. I would try and do more of a vocabulary review in class as well using games and different strategies from Lemov or Kagan so the kids arent bored. I might even break up the vocabulary groups based off the sub groups I came up with for this assignment. Doing that might make it easier to learn and understand within the strategy that works best for that student. Lastly, for every student, on their test paper that was graded and handed back, I would assign homework to students where they would have to go home and on the back of their assignment I would like each student to write- why they thought the word meant something different, what the words true definition and they will also use it correctly in a sentence. This will reinforce the meaning of the words in multiple settings and it will also help their grade on the assignment.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Pronoun Test

14

Student Name Jaediel Michelle Miguel Mia Joshua Kaeden Sage Jaleah Jacob Zach Dylan Julie Ashley Alexis Marissa Faith Amber M Amber Q Vivianna Alex Gabriel Graciella Serling Jeremiah Jon Isaiah Alexandar Luke Litzandro Alan

Emergent Approaching Meets Female Male DT DT DT X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Exceeds DT Unmotivated

X X

X X X X X X X X

X X

Scores (X/35) 26 31 28 26 26.5 31 29 22.5 20 31 23.5 27.5 27 30 30 24 25 27 31 29 25.5 26 27 20.5 28 27 29 27 23 32

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Pronoun Test Pronoun Test given after a brief week spent on pronouns Chose the problems that most of the students missed Problem # 5 Question Select the correct pronoun (Who, Whom) has the time? Standard L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking Number correct 23 Number of errors 7

15

Names on errors Miguel, Alex, Serling, Gabriel, Graciella, Jaleah, Jeremiah

Select the correct pronoun The disagreement was between Teresa and (she, her).

20

10

Select the correct pronoun Are (we, us) boys invited?

22

Faith, Jacob, Dylan, Jeremiah, Marisa, Vivianna, Gabriel, Serling, Jaediel, Joshua Dylan, Jeremiah, Marisa, Vivianna, Gabriel, Serling, Jaediel, Joshua Joshua, Miguel, Alex, Ashley, Julie, Jaediel, Luke, Alan, Gabriel, Amber, Alexis, Zach, Sage, Kaeden, Mia, Litzandro, Graciella, Marisa, Dylan, Jacob Jacob,

7c

Select the correct word Everyone of the students took (his, their) book.

10

20

8c

Select the correct

L. 6. 1

19

11

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK word Janice and (we, us) talked about our camping trip. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking

16 Jeremiah, Jaleah, Litzandro, Jon, Mia, Zach, Jaediel, Ashley, Alex, Joshua Ashley, Julie, Serling, Alan, Amber, Mia, Amber, Jon, Jeremiah, Dylan, Jacob

9c

Select the correct word The winners of the art contest were Darlene and (he. him)

19

11

5d

Write the antecedent of the underlined Each of the spaniels ran to his owner

30

ALL STUDENTS

1e

Tell how the underlined pronoun functions in the sentence Your aunt helped me.

12

18

2e

Tell how the underlined pronoun functions in the sentence May I go with them?

L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking

14

16

3e

Tell how the

L. 6. 1

23

Faith, Jacob, Dylan, Jaleah, Graciella, Lucas, Serling, Litzandro, Isaiah, Jon, Amber M, Mia, Sage, Alexis, Alex, Jaediel, Ashley and Joshua Graciella, Jaleah, Joacob, Faith, Lucas, Jon, Amber, Mia, Amber Q, Luke, Alex, Serling, Jaediel, Alex, Miguel, Joshua Graciella,

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK underlined pronoun functions in the sentence A senator gave us a tour of the senate building. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking

17 Jaleah, Jeremiah, Faith, Vivianna, Lucas, Litzandro, Isaiah, Jon, Mia, Sage, Alexis, Amber Q, Luke, Alex, Serling, Jaediel, Julie, Ashley, Alex, Miguel and Joshua Graciella, Jaleah, Jacob, Faith, Vivianna, Amber M, Alexis, Jaediel and Julie Graciella, Jaleah, Dylan, Jacob, Faith, Litzandro, Jon, Amber M, Luke, Alex, Jaediel, Ashley, Alex and Joshua

4e

Tell how the underlined pronoun functions in the sentence He is playing with his cousin.

5e

Tell how the underlined pronoun functions in the sentence The last person in line was she.

L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking L. 6. 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking

21

16

14

Re- Teach Strategies - Whole group re-teach - Move onto definite and indefinite pronouns while still reviewing the basics of pronouns - Small group lessons during class while other students work independently on another lesson

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Pronoun Test Re-teach strategies

18

For this assignment, it was clear that there are definite areas that need to be re-taught as an entire class while some other areas need to be re-taught and re-assessed in small group. After looking through the student scores on this assignment, it was shocking to see the number of questions missed by the class as a whole. It seemed, once again, there were questions consistently missed by more than half of the students, which made it very clear as to what needs to be re-taught. For this assessment, 5 students who received a D or F, while the rest of the student grades were very disperse between C- to A. For those students who received a D or F, I would definitely try and re-teach their areas of need in small group during class. I would give them basic (printed) notes on the correct use and recognition of pronouns. I would print them because it would be great for them to keep in their binders and refer back to since they are not proficient with pronouns just yet. After the notes, I would give them a review worksheet- we would do one side together and they would do one side without me but as a group. I would then verbally re-assess them briefly on pronouns. Based off of how the students do on that, I would then decide what I need to additionally do for them. The one area I would definitely review, as a class, is section D of this test. For this section the students had to write the antecedent of the underlined word. EVERY student missed number 5 of this section. Being that every student missed this question, it is clear that the students are confused and need more work. I would also review section E, where the students had to tell how the identified pronoun functioned in the sentence. In order to review this, I would first pass back the tests and look at the questions as a class and review those specific ones as a

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

19

class. I would also assign a practice sheet that reflected those questions for class work/ homework. I would use this as my formative assessment to see how the students improve on that specific area. If they improved as a class, I would know its time to move on. If not t hen I would re- evaluate how I would re-teach is, again. Pronouns are difficult to understand, as there are so many exceptions to the rules. So, if I had to spend an extra day or extra time on this, I would definitely make room for it to better assist my students.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Matthew Henson Article Assessment -Students read article and used article to take the test/ assessment

20

Student Name Female Male Emergent DT Appro.. DT Meets DT Exceeds DT Motivated Unmotivat Jaediel X X X Michelle X X X Miguel X X X Mia X X X Joshua X X X Kaeden X X X Sage X X X Jaleah X X X Jacob X X Zach X X X Dylan X X X Julie X X X Ashley X X X Alexis X X X Marissa X X X Faith X X X Amber M X X X Amber Q X X X Vivianna X X X Alex X X X Gabriel X X X Graciella X X X Serling X X X Jeremiah X X X Jon X X X Isaiah X X X Alexandar X X X Luke X X X Litzandro X X X Alan X X X

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Matthew Henson Article Assessment Problem # A. 1-3 Question Three sources of information that a biographer might use to gather information about Matthew Hensons life are listed below. Write and important questions that a biographer might try to answer about Hensons Life from each source of information. What problem did Peary face when he returned from his successful expedition to the North Pole? Standard RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Number correct 16 Number of errors 14

21

Names on errors Graciella, Jaleah, Dylan, Jacob, Faith, Litzandro, Jon, Amber M, Luke, Alex, Jaediel, Ashley, Alex and Joshua

B. 3

B.4

The selection says, Because Henson was Black, his contributions to the expedition were not recognized for many years. This means

RL.6.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 68 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. RL.6.5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot RL.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,

23

Miguel, Alex, Serling, Gabriel, Graciella, Jaleah, Jeremiah

19

11

C.3

To call someone an ARDENT golfer means that the golfer is

21

Ashley, Julie, Serling, Alan, Amber, Mia, Amber, Jon, Jeremiah, Dylan, Jacob Graciella, Jaleah, Jacob, Faith,

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

22 Vivianna, Amber M, Alexis, Jaediel and Jeremiah 29 1 Dylan

D. 2

Why was trying to reach the North Pole so dangerous and difficult? Give at least 2 reasons and explain the problems they caused.

Re-Teach - Go over instructions as a class -Talk about the open ended response

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Matthew Henson Article Assessment Re-Teach Strategies

23

Most of the students did very well on this assignment. Only 3 students received a D or an F, and the other grades were in the A or B ranges. The students who did not do so well, did not make huge mistakes, it seemed more of a problem with reading instructions and then following them correctly. For example, the first question is worth 24 points and asks the students to write questions that a specific person would as Matthew Henson if they were interviewing him. Many of the students, including the 3 who failed, did not write questions down. Instead they wrote nonsense down about the people listed. Not following those instructions cost them 24 points on the assignment, which is a lot of points. I would also go over the open ended response as a class, because even though students did well on this section, they did not use their ACES strategy for writing their constructed response. Even though their teacher has been instilling this in their brain all year, she did not mark them down for not using it. If that was my class I would have marked them down and they would all be expected to redo this because that is the strategy they need to get used to when writing any kind of open ended constructed response after reading. In terms of re-teaching, I feel like as a teacher I would want to sit the whole class down and talk about following instructions on an assignment. Many students lost a number of points for their lack of following instructions fully. I would remind them that it is very important to read all the instructions on an assignment. After that I would pull aside the students who failed as well as the student who did not do well on the open ended response at the end and I would give them an opportunity to make up the assignment. We would read the article together as a group and they would be expected to go through and change their incorrect answers. While reading, we would talk about comprehension and reading strategies that might help us comprehend what we are reading, that we can apply to our assignment next time.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK Summary

24

I have learned many different things through analyzing and reflecting on these assessments. Students have very unique needs and in your classroom and the levels of your students can vary drastically. These assessments are not only tools to grade your students and show their understanding but they are also a great tool for curriculum and instruction. Based off their assessment scores I will know what things I have to teach more in depth, which things I can move on from because the whole class has mastered it. This assignment also taught me that it is very important to frequently reassess each student on something that was re-taught, to see if the student now understands or if there was any growth or even digression. Based off of that then you know if you need to adjust your instruction for that particular student. This assignment was a great way to learn how to implement and use these assessments in our classroom, which will be very beneficial for us when we become teachers. It is not the end of the unit tests, or summative assessments, that are important for your instruction; it is the daily formative assessments that can really drive your lessons in your classroom. I plan in implementing formative assessment on a daily basis throughout my lesson through the use of exit tickets and thumbs up thumbs down (Kagan, 2009) because this is a quick and easy way of seeing if the students understand what you are currently teaching- if they do not, and then you can see where you need to go back and reteach or keep flowing through. My most valuable learning is that assessment is everything in a classroom and it can really show if you are teaching effectively. If students were constantly doing poorly on their assessments and assignments then, as a teacher, it would be a good time to reflect on the way you are teaching or delivering your instruction. Maybe tweaking it would help the students better understand your instruction and thus, helping them do better on their test. As a teaching in

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

25

training, I know this will be one of the hardest things to do. It is human nature to want to blame other for their failure on things- it is hard to take responsibility for the failure and accept that maybe your instruction isnt up to par. However, getting over that struggle cannot only benefit you, but it can ultimately benefit your students. At the end of the day, the student truly is the one that matters. To improve my formative assessment, I really want to get in the habit of simply using them more in my lessons- I did include them a bit throughout my lessons this semester but I didnt do anything further with them. Next time, I would like to let those formative assessments drive my instruction to be effective. It will help me understand if the students understand. Overall, I really learned that assessment is everything and without it, it will be impossible to be an effective teacher. My biggest goal in life it be an effective and remarkable teacher, and I know that this starts in the classroom. Using assessments in my lessons- both formative and summative can really help me in that direction of becoming the great teacher I know is within me.

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK References

26

Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., Johnston, F. (2012). Words Their Way. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Cooter Jr., R. B., Flynt, E. S., & Cooter, K. S. (2007). Comprehensive Reading Inventory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Davidson Institution for Talent Devlopment (2003). Tips for Teachers: for teaching gifted learners. Gurian, M., & Stevens, K. (n.d.). ASCD Express 6.04 - 10 Essential Strategies for Teaching Boys Effectively. Hutton, K. (2011, April). Effective Assessment and Reteaching Strategies. Rickard, K. Personal Communication 2013. Ragan, T. J. (2011, April 5). 10 Ways to Motivate the Unmotivated Student. Tomkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach (5th ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Wallington Public Schools (2001, June). LA Reading Strategies by level. Ying, H. (2012). Transitioning Challenges Faced by Chinese Graduate Students. Adult Learning, 23 (3), 138-147. Doi: 01.1177/1045159512452861 Successful strategies