Assessments in the Classroom

There are so many ways to assess student learning, it’s impossible to think that traditional paper and pencil tests are the only objective way! Tests, of course, are a valuable assessment tool…don’t get me wrong! But I think it’s easy for traditional teachers, and even school districts for that matter, to fall into the trap of believing the only way to assess learners is through a test. I know it seems like our students are being tested every time I turn my head. ITBS testing, TPRI reading tests, Benchmark assessments, Universal Screening, TAKS tests, you name it. For kids who aren’t great test takers, and I put myself in that category, this isn’t always the best way to get a true picture of what students are capable of.

Informal assessments like discussion, observation and journaling can often be very insightful for keen teachers. Journals can often demonstrate unique insights on the part of the students, while observation gives teachers a prime opportunity to key into if kids are on target or not and redirect immediately. I also think maintaining portfolios can genuinely show growth over a long period of time and be credible assessments of what students are mastering.

For me, this program at GCU has been ideal for this “not a great test taker” student. As a student in my younger days, I always had very good grades, but SAT and ACT test scores didn’t reflect that at all. I always had a deep understanding of what was taught and it was clear in my assignments, projects and daily grades. But. Give me a test? I’d just panic and freeze up!!! Having a portfolio for a long term assessment has been beneficial to me.

I believe the best way to get the best picture of student achievement is through varied assessment methods. Different assessment techniques can provide different information to the educator on how well students are mastering the objective taught.

Technology Infused Classroom

When I take some time to fantasize what an ideal technology infused classroom looks like I get goosebumps!!! I don’t teach in a typical classroom setting, as I’m the technology specialist for our campus. I do, however, lead and coordinate the vision for our building on what this “infused” classroom would look like. Along with the leadership of my school, here is the plan:

The foundations for a technology infused classroom, though, have little to do with technology. I would want a teacher to create a structured environment for learning with students as the focus. A priority for this classroom would be high expectations for the teacher and the learners and an atmosphere of learning and support from all classroom members. I picture a classroom with many resources available at the fingertips of the students and technology is one of those resources. When I walk into this classroom, I would immediately sense activity and a room where learning is the top priority of students and the teacher and all technology is easily accessed by the students. I don’t like being in classrooms where the students aren’t allowed to touch anything in case it breaks! Those are usually the classrooms where it’s not being well utilized, anyway, and is covered in dust!

Now onto the technology infusion aspect of this classroom! For starters, each student would have a laptop with wireless network and internet access. Laptops would be loaded with an Office Suite so word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and database capabilities would be readily available. Students ebooks are also available to them on their computers in the classroom. I dream about when the teacher can say, “Double click on your social studies book and select page 150.” How cool is that?

In addition to their laptops, students have an MP3 player tucked away in their desks to listen to their podcasts. Of course in this perfect technology infused world, none of the students ever dream of using their equipment inappropriately, just to be clear! In this technology infused world, the batteries are always charged and the cords are always in the right places as well.

The teacher has presentation cart available for teaching that would have a laptop (separate from the teacher workstation computer), projector or a ceiling mounted projector, speakers, and a document camera. There is also an interactive white board, digital camera, scanner and printer available for student and teacher use.

I think the best of technology infused classrooms are those that the technology is seamlessly integrated in the midst of good instruction and student centered learning. The focus of the classroom isn’t on the nifty gadgets available, but instead focused on students knowing the right tools to access and when to access them.