Making assessments

Assessment is extremely important to me especially because of my past experience. I say his because I experienced assessment as something that was very negative.

When a teacher is assessing a student, there are many goals that must be met in order to improve the student's learning experience. By assessing a student, the teacher is learning about their strengths and areas of improvement in math. Once this has been determined, it becomes easier for the teacher to accommodate and modify their lessons in order to create a better learning environment and learning experience. This can encourage the student to become more engaged and thus, more confident in their learning.

During my elementary school years, I experienced the opposite of this. I had selective mutism and was extremely quiet during school yet I completed my homework. During kindergarten, my teacher somehow determined it was due to my apparently lack of fluency in English and put me in ESL. her assessment was poor since I understood English very well. I just didn't speak.

Because of this experience I had throughout elementary school, assessment has become an extremely important thing for me. My elementary school experience has influenced me to not assume things about a student or discourage them. Assessment is so important for teachers so they can understand that their students are still learning. It is imperative for teachers to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with their students to better understand their level of understanding of the course content.

During this week's class, I learned the importance of assessing students at the very beginning of the class term. This can be done by giving them basic mathematical questions to complete and determining whether or not they are level A, B, C, or D. It can be determined through the amount of work they show and the answers given.

Our professor gave us the assessment questions which included multiple pages of simple and varied math questions to complete. It included fractions, multiplication, etc.

I have learned that it is important to document all of this (their work, amount of times you had discussions with the students, etc.) so that it can be shared with their parents. In addition to this, it's important for parents to be involved so they can better understand their student's level in math and assist them at home.

I have also learned that assessment should be differentiated. Not all students can demonstrate their level of understanding the same way (such as a pop quiz or a unit test). Teachers must recognize this and use alternative forms of assessment. This can be done through a worksheet, a project, or an online math activity.

In conclusion, it's important to really assess your students and understand their learning experience. Build a rapport with your students and make them feel confident in their learning.

Thanks for reading!