Chris Frost - Teacher Evaluation - M6U4A3

My school conducts annual teacher evaluations, and my first-ever took place in April 2017.  I was contacted via email by our school secretary asking me for a convenient time to meet with the principal for my "pre-evaluation celebration."  Anything to make it sound better, right?  During this meeting, my principal was interested in knowing how I was feeling in the classroom, about my TEACH-NOW studies, etc.  Unlike the chemistry teacher in the Teaching Channel video, I was not required to submit and discuss a lesson plan during my pre-evaluation.  The pre-evaluation was more of a heart-to-heart discussion.  I had taken over for a teacher mid-year and started my own schooling soon after.  My life changed drastically in a short period of time, and my students also experienced the loss of a teacher and gaining of a new one.  She provided me with a self-assessment to complete and return prior to my observation.  It contained questions about classroom management, relationships with parents, students and staff, professionalism, planning for instruction, instructional strategies, etc.  The self-assessment was a rubric that required rating myself as highly effective, effective, developing, or ineffective, which I found extremely difficult.  I read and re-read each question.  I didn't want to give myself too much credit since I'd just recently started school and felt like I was "developing" in many ways.  I tried to be as honest as possible.

I was able to choose the day and time of my evaluation, which I appreciated.  I was required to have a copy of my lesson ready and waiting for the principal when she arrived.  She slipped in very quietly and, while I hoped her presence would cause my students to be on their best behavior, they seemed to forget she was there within minutes.  Ha!  I taught a mathematics lesson, which the students really enjoyed, but also caused a great deal of excitement.  Their excitement caused me grief because they seemed more talkative and louder than usual.  

My post-evaluation conference was scheduled exactly one week after my observation.  Before anything else was said, the principal asked me how I felt it went.  Then, she went on to discuss areas of strength and provided helpful suggestions for things that seemed to trouble me.  The assessment form she used to evaluate me was the same one I used to do my self-assessment.  Her ratings lined up nicely to mine, but I would argue that she was more complementary than I was of myself.  

In looking more closely at my evaluation, I do not see where state test scores, for example, are included.  This differs from, say, the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), which does place emphasis on test performance.  However, what I really like about the TVAAS is that student growth over time is what is measured.  Based on how students have performed in previous years, predictions are made about expected performance in the current year.  This provides a more reliable predictor of performance.  Teachers are not assessed per student, but are assessed on how the class on average is progressing as a whole as compared to others in the state.  When state test results are made available at my school, there is a lot of talk about each teacher's passage rate.  There is very little talk about the makeup of each class or student growth, which I think the TVAAS does a great job of taking into consideration.  TVAAS takes into consideration the starting line for each student, and that each student starts in a different place.  

When I think about what should be included in an evaluation, classroom management definitely comes to mind.  To even have a chance of being an effective teacher, you must have control of your class.  My four years of subbing really helped drive this home.  Relationships with students and staff should be evaluated as they are an integral part of one's success as a teacher.  To be successful in teaching and collaborating, you must build positive relationships with your students and colleagues.  Also included should be a teacher's ability to plan and carry out lessons using meaningful instructional strategies.  And, by including an assessment piece similar to TVAAS, a teacher's ability or inability to carry a class forward will be included.  This will show whether or not a teacher is effective in moving students in the right direction based on standards and objectives.  I also feel that evaluations should include a recommended professional development section.  To be honest, I'm not even sure what professional development opportunities are available to me.  Setting some professional development goals would be a worthwhile part of the evaluation process.  

Chris Frost - Pre-Assessment for Differentiation - M6U2A3

My pre-assessment and differentiation strategies are based on the following 3rd grade math standard:

3.M.OA.A.01

Model the process of multiplication using repeated addition, arrays, a number line, and groups of.  

I chose this standard as it is one of the first I will be teaching in the 2017-18 school year.  Because I started teaching full-time in December 2016, the first half of next school year will be foreign to me.  There is a huge emphasis on learning multiplication in 3rd grade, so I want to be as prepared as possible.  

At the end of last school year, my school purchased 60 Chromebooks for use in classrooms.  While I didn't have a chance to utilize them last year, I have every intention of putting them to use in 2017-18.  My pre-assessment was made using Kahoot!, and it is conceivable that my students could use the Chromebooks for the purpose of taking the pre-assessment.  Depending on availability, each student may be able to have his or her own Chromebook or, if resources are limited, students could work in pairs sharing one Chromebook.  The pre-assessment contains ten questions, which was intentional because it's easier for me to grade 😀.  The first three questions are related to multiplication terminology and symbols that students were exposed to at the end of 2nd grade.  This will help me assess whether or not students are familiar with key concepts.  The next four questions take things up a notch by asking students to choose the repeated addition and array answers that match the pictures shown.  I created these questions after looking at the final summative assessment 2nd graders at my school should have taken.  Responses to these questions will help me gauge if they did learn these concepts.  Depending on how far a particular 2nd grade class progressed, it is possible they may not have covered this in great length.  Other 2nd grade classes may have reached or surpassed these concepts.  The results of the final three questions will be very interesting to analyze.  Those having a solid understanding of multiplication terminology, repeated addition, and arrays, may have little difficulty solving multiplication problems using groups of and a number line.  Those with a weak understanding may have more difficulty.  The pre-assessment will give me a very good idea of where students stand.  The results are not meant to penalize or pigeonhole anyone but, rather, help me plan lessons to best suit the needs of all of my students.  To view my pre-assessment, please click on this link.  Kahoot! Pre-Assessment

Once pre-assessment results have been analyzed, students will be grouped according to their abilities for activities.  Students with a low level of understanding will spend time reviewing important multiplication terminology, symbols, and the different strategies of multiplication. Using Chromebooks, students will watch a Khan Academy video that introduces multiplication and provides practice problems. The practice problems will serve as a formative assessment.  Problems for these students will contain smaller factors and, as time progresses, factors will become greater.  Math manipulatives will be utilized in the building of multiplication models.  Finally, students will be given pre-lessons to prepare them for the following day.  They will be asked to share what they've learned to help teach others, and to build trust and confidence.  

Using Chromebooks, students with an intermediate level of understanding will watch a series of Khan Academy videos to reinforce what they already know, plus provide a refresher of concepts they may have forgotten.  Practice problems will be completed by students, which will serve as a formative assessment.  I envision students in this group, which will most likely be the largest group, working with a partner.  As students gain understanding, they will move on to more challenging activities, like the "Problem of the Week," which is explained in more detail in my mind map (click to open).  Students will also create their own multiplication word problems that group members will solve using the various models of multiplication.  

Students with a high level of understanding will begin work on the "Problem of the Week," which is explained in more detail in the above mind map.  Students will create their own multiplication word problems and equations that will be shared and solved by the rest of the class.  These students will be given an opportunity to help struggling students via peer tutoring.  Lastly, when ready, they will be introduced to division and its relationship to multiplicaton via Khan Academy videos and practice problems.  

Chris Frost - High-Stakes Assessments - M6U1A3

High-stakes testing in schools often leads to heated conversations between educators, parents, elected officials, etc.  In my circles, most don't like them, but begrudgingly accept them as the status quo.  Scholarly research is divided on the subject, yet most of what jumps out at you online is against them.  In a seemingly unbiased publication (Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing, 2013), the Columbia University Office of Work/Life provided their opinions of the pros and cons of standardized testing.  One pro mentioned is that standardized or high-stakes testing gives teachers guidance on what to teach and when.  Because I like structure, I tend to like this aspect.  How we teach the standards is up to us, but the standards that students will be tested on are known.  We may not know exactly what the test will look like, but we have a pretty good idea of what will be on it.  Another pro mentioned is that high-stakes tests are objective in nature, meaning that they are normally graded electronically or by those who do not know the students.  If rules are followed, this removes any subjective component and makes the results very difficult to tamper with.  Columbia University also lists as a pro the ability to compare schools locally, statewide, and nationally.  Parents and students are able to engage in comparisons because of the highly automated nature of high-stakes assessments.  One of the major cons noted in the publication is the stress on students, teachers, districts, and parents.  This stress can lead to high anxiety resulting in good teachers leaving the profession, health problems, disagreements at home, and a decline in student engagement at school.  Also mentioned as a con is that high-stakes assessments only measure individual performance at the time of the test, and don't take into account Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  A student may have grown considerably over the course of the year, but test results may show a weak performance. Also, text anxiety causes some hard-working and bright students to underperform.  A high-stakes assessment does not reflect that these students possess character traits that will lead to success in their future endeavors.

For purposes of this assignment, I interviewed the principal of Benson Primary School in Benson, Arizona.  As a parent of children attending the school, as well as a 3rd grade teacher there, I have always found her to be a very honest and reasonable person whose opinion I value. She explained that teacher evaluations do include a test score page, but the test scores of the entire school are averaged, rather than showing individual teachers or grade levels.  She jokingly said that bonuses and rewards for high test scores are only given to the principal but, in all seriousness, there are no rewards and bonuses tied to test scores 😀.  She assured me that she has never considered or implemented the moving of teachers from one grade to another based on test scores.  Also, it is not policy to release a teacher due to test scores alone.  When assessment performance in a grade varies from teacher to teacher, there is much to be taken into consideration.  She explains that, while an initial attempt is made to structure each of the grade-level classes equally based on academics and behavior, classes get skewed a bit due to legal and personality conflicts, parent requests, etc.  Also, some teachers are better able to handle behavior issues, so they may end up with more of one type of student group vs. another.  As a result, her opinion is that test result averages may be a bit misleading, and scores on high-stakes assessments alone are not a good indicator of teacher effectiveness.  She believes in multiple measures of assessment. 

I also interviewed the superintendent of the Benson Unified School District who came to us from nearby Vail School District.  Economically speaking, Vail is in much better shape than Benson.  Situated just east of Tucson, many Vail residents work in Tucson.  Benson is farther east of Tucson and job opportunities aren't as plentiful or easily accessible.  I learned from our superintendent that high-stakes assessments are treated similarly in the Vail School District.  It is the general consensus at the district level that test scores alone do not define a student, teacher, or school.  Like Benson, bonuses and rewards are not tied to test scores at Vail.  One contrast is that, because teachers are more plentiful in Vail due to nearby Tucson, more thought might be given to finding a better grade-level fit for a teacher who consistently struggles with testing.  Assessment performance would never be the only factor that drives a change, but it might carry more weight in Vail vs. Benson.  I was also very surprised to learn that much of what Benson Unified School District does is modeled after the Vail School District. Benson has worked closely with Vail in recent years to implement a lot of the same procedures, schedules, summative assessments, test prep processes, etc.  Perhaps this is one reason why Benson Unified School District has been so successful, despite being more economically depressed. Much like Vail School District, Benson Unified School District values its teachers for more than just scores on high-stakes assessments.  

Since the 2013-14 school year, Arizona's "Move on When Reading" law requires that students who score in the "Falls Far Below" category on the ELA portion of the AzMerit achievement test will be retained at the end of their 3rd grade year.  Exceptions can and will be made for ELLs with two years or less of English instruction, students with disabilities whose IEPs include that promotion is based on what appears in the IEP, and students in the special education referral process or who are being evaluated for reading impairments (Move on When Reading, 2017). This past school year, my IEP students, and also a 504 student with ADHD, took the AzMerit outside of my classroom with special education professionals who helped them based on what appears in their IEPs/504.  My school's principal told me that, since the 2013-14 school year, not one student has been retained.  Those who have scored "Falls Far Below" were covered by one of the exceptions mentioned above. Based on the lack of motivation I witnessed by some students this year during testing, I was in disbelief upon hearing that. I recall one student filling in random bubbles without reading a single passage.  It truly makes me wonder how much weight this test should carry.  

As a teacher, I administered my first AzMerit achievement test at the end of March, which was earlier than many other Arizona schools.  Our early testing date required that we, as teachers, teach four quarters worth of standards in three.  This was extremely stressful for teachers and students, as we often felt rushed.  Frequently, I felt as if some students would benefit from more time spent on a concept, yet I had to move on because of time constraints.  Ironically, I felt like I was leaving children behind.  Test prep occurs almost every day all year.  In the teaching of required standards, I am prepping for the quarterly benchmark exams and, later, the state-mandated exam.  None are available for teachers to see until assessments are taken, but some teachers have been around long enough to remember what will appear.  The AzMerit test really throws students a curve when they are asked to pick two answers for a question rather than one.  This is not something students have been exposed to on any other assessments so, if students aren't prepared, this might confuse them and cause unnecessary stress.  Practice booklets are provided to teachers that contain practice tests.  Starting 2 to 3 weeks prior to the AzMerit, teachers print copies of the practice tests and review them with students.  This helps them become familiar with the verbiage and nuances they will encounter.  During this 2 to 3 week review, standards are still being taught as per the curriculum calendar.  It requires a great deal of time and thought to make this period of time engaging for students, but it is not impossible.  In a 2014 article, education journalist Katrina Schwartz suggests making the standards fit into student interests.  This could be applied year-round, as well as during test prep.  Practice assessment questions could be rewritten, or made accessible online, so they are more engaging to students.

As a veteran substitute teacher, and now a full-time teacher, I frequently hear teachers fretting about high-stakes assessments.  While I set the bar high for almost everything I do, I realize that there is only so much I can control. I will work my hardest to teach the required standards in an engaging way and prepare my students for the high-stakes assessments they will face.  At the same time, I want my students to enjoy school and love learning.  As a result, any stress I may feel about such assessments will not be made known to students.  On test day, I just want them to do their best.  That is all anyone can ask.

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References:

Move on When Reading. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.azed.gov/mowr/family-and-community/

Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing. (2013). Retrieved from http://worklife.columbia.edu/files_worklife/public/Pros_and_Cons_of_Standardized_Testing_1.pdf

Schwartz, Katrina. (2014, March 12). Retrieved from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/12/how-to-teach-the-standards-without-becoming-standardized/

Chris Frost - Lesson Plan Incorporating Multicultural Perspectives - M5U5A1

I grew up in a rural, mostly Caucasian town.  One of my classmates was African American and a favorite memory of mine is running track together in high school.  We lived about an hour from Columbus, Ohio and often had to race against inner-city schools.  When we would arrive at the meet and size up our competition, Lina would always say, "Crap, they're all black."  Her stereotype of inner-city African American girls made me laugh then, and it still makes me laugh now.  She is a dear friend to this day and, based on the results of some of those races, she wasn't entirely wrong.  

I was raised in a very nonjudgmental home.  My parents never talked down about other races and cultures.  In fact, my parents spent time serving in the Peace Corps in India and I was often tortured as a child by slide shows and the smells of foreign spices.  Much like my parents, I expect my children to treat everyone with respect, regardless of race, religion, disability, etc.  We are all the same in God's eyes. When talking about diversity with my children and students, I always remind them that we have no say in choosing the color of our skin, what disabilities we are born with, and the culture into which we are born.  What we do have control over is our character and how we treat others.  

I now live in an even smaller town in Arizona, yet there is slightly more diversity because the United States/Mexico border is just 75 miles south.  As a result, there are several students with ties to Mexico.  As a teacher, my hope is to make all students and families feel safe and comfortable while at school. I don't pry for information, as I don’t want to make students feel uneasy, yet I am excited to learn about their background and culture if they wish to share.  It helps us understand why people do things a certain way, teaches us some really neat things about others, and learn how to assist students and their families.  Because I took over my class mid-year, many things got lost in the shuffle. One of those things was the fact that I had an ELL student.  I was shocked to finally learn this because he was one of my best students in terms of reading, writing, etc.  It was unfathomable to me that he started kindergarten knowing little to no English.  I learned that he had achieved the status of Proficient on his last AZELLA exam, and was in the second of his two-year monitoring phase.  Prior to parent-teacher conferences, it dawned on me that I hadn't heard back from his parents.  I asked the student if an interpreter would make them feel more comfortable and he said, "Yes."  As a result, I arranged for an interpreter, and our conference went amazingly well.  I almost missed an opportunity to meet with them because I didn't gather this information sooner.  I think my relationship with this student grew stronger after I learned more about his background and family.  He shared that he was born in Mexico, and I invited him to share information about his home country with the class.  He enjoyed sharing and I know the other students enjoyed learning. 

I had a United States map hanging in my classroom last year that garnered more interest than anything else.  Students would be near it when they lined up to leave the classroom and were always talking about where they had traveled, where they had lived, etc.  We live in a town near several military installations so there is diversity in terms of student hometowns.  I never would have guessed that a $1.00 map from Dollar Tree would be such a conversation starter!  My thought for next year is to add a world map to the mix.  At the beginning of the school year, we could do some activities to learn the ancestry of students.  I envision the activities involving both student and family, and inviting some parents to speak to students about their culture.  Had I thought of this last school year, I could have invited a student’s mother to speak who is from Germany.  Next year, I may have a student whose parents hail from Vietnam.  My experience has been that students really enjoy learning about culture and diversity.  Unfortunately, time is limited, and we spend a great deal of time on mathematics and reading.  My hope is to incorporate multicultural elements into other subjects.  I like to spend the last 15 minutes of the day reading to students.  Perhaps I can choose books with a multicultural perspective.  Another idea is to have students do writing assignments that cause them to think globally and multiculturally.  I will continue to have multicultural books in my classroom. If I determine that books about other cultures would be beneficial, I will use my Scholastic coupons to purchase them.  When creating word problems for mathematics, I will include ethnic names and topics.  This might help engage students of various backgrounds.  It will take some creative thinking, but multicultural elements can be incorporated into subjects other than just social studies.  

How will I know if students are developing cultural competence in my classroom?  Well, the first thing that comes to mind is how students are treating others.  Are they being kind to one another regardless of race, religion, culture, etc?  If so, that is a good start.  Also, I will feel successful if interest is piqued when a student shares information about his or her culture.  If I hear conversations between students about where they are from, where they go to church, what holidays they celebrate, etc., I will know they are interested in learning about others, which helps lead to understanding and tolerance.  If I continue to see that my classroom books about different cultures, languages, holidays, etc. are being checked out, I will know that students are enjoying becoming more culturally competent.  

With my own children, as well as my students, I will continue to emphasize that our differences make us unique.  If we were all the same, life would be rather boring.  We all have different stories, and sharing our stories helps us learn new things.  As I mentioned in the second paragraph, we have no control over where and how we are born.  We do have control over our character and how we treat others, which is what I will drive home to students as much as I possibly can. 

Candidate has analyzed in detail different ways s/he will know if students are developing cultural competence.

Chris Frost - Differentiating for and Anticipating Student Needs - M5U3A2

When I first started teaching full-time, I'll admit that I taught to those students who were engaged, which were my medium to higher-level learners.  Two groups of students, my disengaged learners and ADHD students, were often unfocused and engaging in undesirable behaviors. I was convinced that they didn't want to learn and it bothered me that they were interfering with the learning of others.  It finally dawned on me that I was the one who needed to make changes.  As a result, I shifted my focus to finding ways for all students to learn, regardless of ability level.  I knew this would benefit my disengaged learners and ADHD students, as well as my engaged students, who were sometimes adversely affected by those who weren't.

My disengaged learners had the ability, but lacked the will.  Because I had a habit of calling on students with hands raised and eager faces, I realized that my disengaged learners were not receiving much attention.  I decided to differentiate affect by working to build better personal relationships with my disengaged learners.  Whenever I had a chance, I would strike up a conversation about a common interest or an interest of theirs.  They began seeing me as someone who cared about them and their interests, which helped them focus on me a little more.  From there, I changed the way I called on students.  Rather than calling on students with hands raised, I differentiated the process by pulling name sticks at random.  All of a sudden, students knew that they might be called on at any time, which heightened engagement.  I suddenly had students solving problems on the classroom whiteboard who had never done so previously.  I noticed a change in their participation level, as well as their confidence level.  My disengaged learners finally felt like someone cared about and had faith in them.

Going forward, I will offer students more choice in the process of practicing a skill, which will stimulate disengaged learners.  By giving students options, they feel as if they have some control over their learning, and can choose options that interest them.  This will lead to product differentiation.  I will also have students work collaboratively.  When doing assignments individually, it is much easier for a disengaged learner to "zone out."  When working with a partner or team, there is more pressure to contribute and not let your team down.  I will differentiate content by providing more hands-on learning opportunities.  For example, a simple dry erase board could be used to solve problems instead of a worksheet.  Resources such as math manipulatives and/or technology tools would pique the interest of a disengaged learner.  I will differentiate process by striving to relate what I am teaching to student interests.  Thought will be put into selecting and/or creating assignments that students find fun and relevant.  If students don't understand why a lesson or assignment is purposeful, especially a disengaged learner, they are less likely to be engaged.  The following resources provide suggestions for engaging students and helped me develop the above plan.

http://educationtothecore.com/2015/08/5-strategies-for-reaching-disengaged-students/

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2012/05/response_several_ways_to_connect_with_disengaged_students.html

http://www.teachmag.com/archives/4190

I had one ADHD student this past year.  She was quite capable of doing the work, but had difficultly getting started, staying on task, and finishing.  Because I knew she was very bright, and I had little knowledge of ADHD, I did very little differentiating of instruction initially.  Over time, I realized that the work she did complete was high-quality, but there was little getting done.  I was expecting her to do the same amount of work in the same timeframe as my medium to higher-level learners.  She would get distracted, lose focus, and I would constantly be redirecting her. It became frustrating for both of us so I decided to change course.  I began differentiating process by setting small goals for her to complete within a certain timeframe.  I would tell her that I expected her to have x number of problems completed by lunchtime.  She was still doing the same work that my medium to higher-lever learners were doing, but content was adjusted to smaller quantities.  This worked wonders and less redirection was required.  In addition, I differentiated the learning environment by providing her with preferred seating where there were minimal distractions and she was close to me.

Going forward, as recommended in the following resource, https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/adhd/adhd-teaching_pg3.html, I will divide content into smaller units.  I will encourage cooperative learning with a partner who I feel is able to keep the ADHD student on track. The Think-Write-Pair-Share strategy provides variety and allows students to express themselves in writing and orally.  To differentiate process, as recommended in the following resource, http://onlineresourcekit-adhd.blogspot.com/p/differentiating-curriculum-teaching.html, I will provide a daily checklist to ADHD students that can be marked as tasks are completed.  Additionally, homework assignments will be written down so that they are remembered.  My plan for next school year is to implement a ticket reward system where students receive a ticket when they are caught in the act of following classroom rules, staying on task, etc.  Tickets can also be taken away if rules aren't followed.  Tickets can be redeemed weekly for prizes, which should help incentivize ADHD students, as well as other students, as described in this resource https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/.

Differentiating instruction for learners on opposite ends of the spectrum can be accomplished in a variety of ways.  This past school year, I found I had enough higher-level learners who were eager and willing to help the struggling students.  This was a blessing to me, and it challenged my higher-level learners to be patient, kind, and intuitive.  They had to think of ways to help struggling students gain understanding of a concept.  This required positive communication skills.  Being paired with a higher-level learner, my lower-level learners received peer instruction and feedback, which I found to be quite effective.  Some students respond more favorably to peer feedback than teacher feedback. If formative assessment reveals that a student is struggling, I will often spend time differentiating content with him or her during their specials period.  I try to avoid this unless absolutely necessary because I know students look forward to specials.  But, when necessary, meeting with them during that time gives me an opportunity to work one-on-one with students or in a small group.  If a student is struggling and I sense that he or she is overwhelmed by a particular assignment or its length, I will differentiate the process so that it's not so daunting.  This might mean breaking it down into smaller parts.  Finally, for students who have mastered a concept and are ready for higher-level concepts, I will have assignments on hand that serve this purpose.  I will differentiate content by having them write about what they are learning.  For example, they could write a persuasive or informational essay.  They could write the procedures followed to learn the skill, which might help a struggling student.

Please click the link below to view my flowchart for differentiating instruction based on students' individual needs.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Inx-1daSyTlGa11TXKXV9Jck6p8efGPPIa1ZQ9mQkos/edit?usp=sharing

References

Education.com. (2014, October 3). Strategies for Students with ADHD. https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/

Ford, K. (n.d). Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners. http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/differentiated-instruction-english-language-learners

NSW Government. (2015). Differentiating content, process, product, learning environment.
http://www.ssgt.nsw.edu.au/documents/3_content_pro_etal.pdf

Chris Frost - Articulating Outcomes: Thinking Like an Assessor - M5U2A2

In my four years of substitute teaching, and in my five months of full-time teaching, I have grown accustomed to certain procedures followed district-wide by teachers in grades 2 and up.  At the end of a mathematics or reading unit, a District Formative Assessment (DFA) is given to students to evaluate student learning.  Ironically, our summative assessment is called a formative assessment, which caused some confusion for me when I first read this assignment.  The DFA contains five questions and is graded.  It is up to teachers how much weight the DFA carries and, frequently, grade-level teams will decide how to treat them.  Some grade-level teams weigh DFAs more heavily since they do serve as the summative assessment for an entire unit.  Others weigh them similarly to graded classwork or homework.  As a parent, I have never been a fan of the DFA because it only contains five questions.  If one question is missed, students receive an 80% or B-.  If two questions are missed, students receive a 60% or D-.  If a student has a teacher who weighs the DFA more heavily, it can be very detrimental to an overall grade.  In my classroom, and in 3rd grade overall, DFAs carry the same weight as classwork or homework.  In fact, all of our graded work carries the same weight, including quarterly benchmark tests.  Because some students struggle with testing, we don't want grades to be too adversely affected.  It's our feeling that there are better ways to assess understanding.  Because we are required to administer and grade the DFA, it does serve as our summative assessment at the district level.  Students receiving a 60% or below must spend time in reteach.  Reteach is often conducted by the classroom teacher during specials or recess.  After reteach, students take version two of the five-question DFA.  The goal is to have all students pass with an 80% or above, but this is rarely the case.  Often, there is a handful of students, even after reteach, who score 60% or below.

When I took over my class mid-year, I was against group work.  I knew this class had the reputation of being very chatty, so my goal was to temper this.  While I did manage to gain more classroom control than my predecessor, I realized something along the way.  I realized that there is great value in students working collaboratively, as long as students are grouped appropriately and staying on task.  My low students seemed to benefit the most, which was a blessing for them and me.  They seemed to respond more favorably to peer instruction and correction.  As a result, my formative assessment during a unit often consisted of group observation.  I would provide instruction to students prior to assigning groups.  When students broke into groups to begin work, I would walk around the classroom to check in and ask questions.  These questions helped me assess their understanding and create future lessons.  For those students needing more of a challenge, I would ask them higher-level questions.  I didn't realize until this assignment that observation is considered a tool for formative assessment.  In fact, I didn't realize until this assignment how many tools are available for formative assessment.  After reading 60 Formative Assessment Strategies (Lambert, 2012), I am excited to try new formative assessment strategies next school year.  By experimenting with some of the strategies, I am sure I will find ones that work better for different units.  Also, some may work better for one class vs. another.  

Two strategies, in particular, are of interest to me for purposes of the standard I am focusing on.  The standard reads: Model the process of multiplication using repeated addition, arrays, a number line, and groups of.  I really like the Think-Pair-Share strategy (ReadWriteThink, 2017).  In this strategy, I will give students a higher-level question about a topic that relates to the standard.  They will have 1 to 3 minutes to think about the question individually.  Next, for 2 to 5 minutes, they will be paired with another student to discuss their thoughts and ask questions of each other.  Finally, we will meet as a class to share thoughts and ask questions.  I will ask each member of a pair to share what they discussed and learned.  That way, I hear from all students and can assess each student's level of understanding.  

The second strategy I would like to use for formative assessment is a Journal Entry (Lambert, 2012).  The 3rd and 4th grade teachers at my school agree that writing is not emphasized enough.  Time is often a factor, but my hope is to incorporate writing into every subject next school year, including mathematics.  By putting thoughts on paper, I can assess where students need language assistance.  Also, it will give students a chance to practice their cursive writing.  By including writing in lessons, I will be able to assess students in a variety of ways, including their understanding of the topic, their language skills, and their handwriting.  It seems like an efficient way to provide a thorough evaluation.

As far as a summative assessment goes, well, I am somewhat bound by our DFA.  It doesn't have to be the only summative assessment, but time often prevents extending a unit to include additional assessments.  As teachers, we must wrap up a unit and move on to the next.  For the standard listed above, what I would like to see is a summative assessment where students are provided with real-world problems and can choose the strategy (repeated addition, arrays, a number line, or groups of) they feel most comfortable with to solve them.  The summative assessment would ask students to explain, in writing, why they chose a particular strategy and how they used it to solve the problem.  This would incorporate choice and writing into the assessment.  If time permits, I would meet with students one-on-one to have them explain to me how they solved a problem and why they prefer one strategy over another.  This would improve communication skills, which is important in the workforce.  I would encourage eye contact, which many students have difficulty maintaining.  Unlike the DFA that serves as my district's summative assessment, my ideal summative assessment would consider the whole child.  Each student has unique strengths and weaknesses and, by including choice, writing, and spoken communication, students could shine in a variety of ways.  It also indicates areas where students need additional assistance.  

My assessments are SMART, meaning specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.  Using backwards mapping, I would ensure that students are learning what they are supposed to be learning.  Why?  Well, because I know the stakes are high when it comes to benchmark tests and state-mandated exams.  Assessments need to be specific to the standard.  My formative assessments, including Think-Pair-Share and Journal Entry, ask questions that are directly related to the standard, as well as push students above and beyond in terms of higher-level thinking.  My summative assessments are measurable and graded.  Assessments are attainable in that students will be asked to answer questions and solve problems for which they have had instruction. There should be no surprises.  Performance goals will be set that are reasonable and well-suited for my particular group of students. Assessments are relevant in that they relate directly to the standard.  Also, my ideal summative assessment is relevant in terms of real-world scenarios.  To engage students, what they are learning must be relevant to their own experiences and interests. And, finally, my assessments are time-bound.  Formative assessments would be given at the end of instruction on a particular topic.  Summative assessments would be given at the end of instruction on an entire unit.  

References

Lambert, K. (2012, April). 60 Formative Assessment Strategies. Retrieved from  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzYfzjQoASL_bXVxYUg4SE1lSk0/view

ReadWriteThink. (2017). Using the Think-Pair-Share Technique. Retrieved from

 http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/using-think-pair-share-  30626.html

Chris Frost - Understanding and Applying Standards - M5U1A3

I wish I had completed M5U1 back in December.  That is when I took over for a 3rd grade teacher who decided to retire early.  I knew taking over a class mid-year would be a challenge in and of itself, plus it was widely known that my predecessor had "checked out," had an unruly class, and was behind in teaching the standards.  The class I inherited had scored the lowest of the 3rd grade classes on Q2 benchmark exams, and I knew I had a lot of work to do. Despite my lack of formal training, I was humbled by the fact that school and district officials were confident in my ability to face these challenges.  

As a four-year veteran of substitute teaching, I was fairly comfortable in the classroom, but I never had to plan any lessons from scratch.  I would arrive on my scheduled day and find plans waiting for me.  I mainly had to worry about carrying them out successfully.  Occasionally, I had to improvise, but I never had to unpack standards or engage in backwards mapping.  In December, without much notice, I became responsible for everything.  Needless to say, I felt quite overwhelmed the first several months on the job.  Trying to balance full-time teaching, full-time school, and family rearing left me more than a little frazzled at the end of each day. 😔

Fast forward to now.  This is the last week of my first year of teaching.  My students seem happy, their parents seem happy, my employer seems happy, and I couldn't be happier for summer break.  The countless hours I spent learning the tools necessary to do my job paid off, as I managed to close some gaps.  On Q3 benchmark exams, my students scored the highest of the 3rd grade classes, which made me smile both inside and out.  This wouldn't have been possible without the help of my mentor, my colleagues, my family, and my dedication to learning the standards. 😊

The school year moves at a very fast pace.  There is little down time, and the standards we are expected to teach can't be taught at a leisurely pace, unfortunately.  There are quarterly benchmark exams and state-mandated exams that assess students on what they have learned through a given period.  As a result, planning has to be efficient and effective.  Unwrapping the standards, or breaking them down into smaller components, makes me feel less overwhelmed.  It helps me identify what concept I am teaching, like multiplication, division, elapsed time, shapes and attributes, etc.  Also, identifying the verbs in the standard helps me understand what students need to be able to do with the concept.  For example, explain, use, partition, show, create, solve, interpret, etc.  Unwrapping a standard also provides a context for the concept.  For example, a standard may ask students to model the process of multiplication using arrays and a number line.  The context is arrays and a number line.  If I planned all of my lessons teaching students how to model the process of multiplication using repeated addition, I wouldn't be preparing them for what they are expected to know.  As a result, it is very important to identify the concept, skills (action), and context of each standard I am expected to teach.  

After starting in December, I quickly learned the value of looking at the final assessment as part of the unwrapping process.  Often, I would read the standard, then go straight to the assessment to learn more about what is expected.  We also did this as a grade-level team during our Friday meetings.  This was essential for me in the first few months of teaching because time was extremely scarce.  Knowing what students would be seeing on their District Formative Assessment (DFA) helped me narrow down my lesson planning. Instead of feeling so overwhelmed, my direction was clearer. Backwards mapping helped me back into lessons that would get students where they needed to be.  I must say, however, that I did feel guilty about doing this at times.  I sometimes felt like I was teaching to the DFA.  While I feel backwards mapping is extremely beneficial, I think we must prepare lessons that challenge our students to think outside the box or test.  We must strive to prepare engaging lessons that give students an opportunity to work collaboratively.  We must challenge students according to their proficiency level and learning style, and ask students to share what they've learned, regardless of subject.   

I am fortunate that my district subscribes to Beyond Textbooks, which was created by neighboring Vail Student District.  In fact, I just learned yesterday that my district was part of the pilot program and its first user.  Beyond Textbooks takes the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards and unpacks them fully. Standards are broken down by concept, skills, big ideas, essential questions, common misconceptions, etc. Assessments are provided and teachers share resources and lesson plans for each standard.  I was unaware of how extensively the standards are unwrapped in Beyond Textbooks until M5U1, which is why the assignments in M5U1 would have benefited me back in December.  I knew where to find each standard, the teaching timeline, the DFA, and some lesson plan ideas.  My research this weekend opened a whole new world for me that will make life much easier going forward.  I now know where to find the concept, skills, big ideas, essential questions, common misconceptions, expectations based on proficiency level, etc.  Unwrapping a standard takes time, and Beyond Textbooks does much of the work for users.  In a sense, M5U1 helped me unwrap Beyond Textbooks, and has given me more confidence heading in to next school year.