This is a picture created by one of my grade six students as part of completing a unit on human anatomy. The picture was a type of ongoing, formative assessment that I included in order to assess students understanding of the different organs in the human body and their basic function. I initially had the learners use an outline I provided them to draw a picture of a human body. I then had them use a pencil and draw and label as many organs as they could. This served as a diagnostic assessment and I was able to use this information to gather an understanding of their previous knowledge of human anatomy. I had them work using a pencil and eraser and revise this picture at the end of each class during the unit. On the last class the students worked fine lining and colouring their human body.
This assignment is an example of the assessment for learning that I emphasized during this unit. By completing the picture I was able to get a snap shot of learners initial understanding of the human body and as they continued to revise their picture each class I was able to assess how well they understood different areas we studied. This information allowed me to correct misconceptions. For example a number of students drew the heart to the far left of the diagram rather than centre left. It also allowed me to focus both my review and teaching on areas that the learners were having difficulty understanding.
I have used this artifact as evidence of my “Effective Teaching Practices”(Standard 5). During the practicum I was able to improve students learning outcomes by utilizing formative assessment. I have a broad understanding of assessment that I have learned both during my BEd and MEd. I bring this knowledge into the classroom and develop assessments that not only are used to evaluate students but in themselves engender learning.
In my continuing practice as a classroom teacher I expect to emphasize assessment from the first day of the year. I envision a classroom that mixes more formal tests with using assessment that is authentic and collaborative. I aim to include forms of assessment such as portfolio and performance assessment into the curriculum to ensure that assessment enables learning in the classroom.
