CASE 4: EXIT SLIP 

1. What are some expectations or learning outcomes that are best assessed by selected response items/constructed response items?

Selected response items could be used to assess different areas of vocabulary, especially when they are attached to a concept. For example, providing a word bank to label the body parts of a duck. Selected response is used often in younger grades. In selected response, the idea is to see if they can locate the right answer/do word recognition. Constructed response or student-generated responses should be used in cases where the students are asked to reflect or think about an idea, concept or experience, and in cases where the teacher is assessing what the student can come up with on their own.

2. What are the pros and cons of giving students choices in answering essay items?

Giving options to students when answering essays is beneficial because it helps those who may have memory retrieval issues or have trouble getting their thought processes going. It can also help by providing a list of guiding questions to guide students’ writing. However, everyone has different interests and if each student gets to pick their own topic (without being given a limited number of options to pick from) they will write more, likely of better quality, because they are invested in a subject they are passionate about.

3. . Why is the development of higher-level thinking in students important to society?

The importance of higher-level thinking in students is important because these young people will be the future, and as individuals we need them to be able to question and inquire about the information the see and hear. Higher level thinking and the ability to think critically is how they will be able to come to their own conclusions, and come up with their own ideas. Teaching and fostering them to be able to actively think about the world around them and the information they are presented with is how we can ensure they will make the best decisions for themselves and our society. Higher level thinking is also how we can encourage individuality and uniqueness.

1. Will routine classroom instructional adaptations be sufficient to help a student reach academic success?

Adapting a classroom routine and instruction to set up a child for success is key for their development, however, simply implementing an adaptation is not going to guarantee success. When individualizing instruction to fit a child’s needs, some trial and error will have to be done to ensure the changes made are as beneficial as possible – it’s not enough to arbitrarily decide on an adaptation and implement it. Changes to routine need to be communicated with the child and the child’s family – the family will likely have insights on how to modify a structure to fit their child’s needs. Keeping a child involved in the changes made when possible helps them feel like they have autonomy and input in their learning; this will help their willingness to adapt along with the instruction. Additionally, when adapting classroom instruction for a child, the educator will have to be regularly informally assessing the student in order to assess the success of the adaptation made.

2. Can an individualized intervention plan carried out in general education setting bring the student up to academic level of his/her peers?

In theory, the answer to this question should be yes. An individualized education plan can bring student’s academic functioning up to the same level as their peers, but it may not always do so. In some instances, the plan may serve to improve that specific child’s academic level, but in the meantime their peers academic levels are also improving. Additionally, the issues with carrying out an intervention plan in a general school setting also influence how well this will work in reality; schools are often low on support staff, meaning the teacher has to handle her general classroom on top of ensuring that the intervention plan is being implemented properly and consistently. The family’s involvement in the student’s education will also affect how well an individualized intervention plan can work. With lots of hard work on the teacher’s and student’s part, and open lines of communication, an individualized intervention plan can serve to at least bring the child’s academic level closer to that of their peers.

1. What do you think about classroom community? Is it important?

Having positive feelings of community is essential to the functioning of a classroom. When students feel as though they know one another and have connected to their peers, they will be more invested in each other and the well-being of their class as a group. Classroom community can have a massively positive impact on a child’s school experience – a study done by Cousik et al (2015) demonstrated that a sense of community and inclusivity in the classroom improves a child’s performance at school. Having a classroom community enables children to make connections and learn how to be a supportive member of a diverse group. Community cultivates a sense of belonging and teaches a variety of social skills such as cooperation, verbal expression and emotion management.

2. What is one thing you would like to try in your practicum over the next few weeks?

Something I would like to do in my practicum in the next couple weeks is have a moment (or two) to connect with each child in my class and learn a bit about them and what they are passionate about. I think this will help greatly in my efforts to become apart of their classroom community, and make each child feel valued and important.

3. Does assessment need to have a value added to it?

I do not think that assessment needs to have a numerical value (or letter grade) added to it, but I do believe it needs to have a certain value to it to be useful for teachers; educators need assessment to able to evaluate where the child stands in comparison to a typical developing child of their age group. I think in the majority of cases that this value is something only for the educator to know, to use for guiding their teaching and instruction for that child. This information should, of course, be shared with parents at parent teacher conferences/other meetings to keep them involved in their child’s education. The value of assessment in primary schools should not be used so that children can place themselves in a ranked hierarchy (i.e. shared publicly or given to the child to tell them if they did ‘badly’, rather so that you as an educator are as aware as possible of each child’s needs and development as the year progresses.

References:

Cousik, R. (2015). Cultural and functional diversity in the elementary classroom: Strategies for teachers. Journal for Multicultural Education, 9(2), 54-67. doi:10.1108/JME-03-2015-0010