Digital Blog Post# J - Chapter 11

Engaging Students in Performance Assessment and Reflective Learning

This chapter is relatively short but contains very good information for teachers about creating portfolios and adding information to it making them more appealing to potential school. It also sheds light on the value of providing different ways to assess students that can help students engage further into what they have learned.

Three important topics:

1. The Role of Assessment in Teaching
2. Elements of a Teacher Portfolio
3. Democratic Schools and Classrooms

1.) Educators are tasked with evaluating their students at any level and assessing what they have learned in the classroom. Teachers also must be evaluated by their supervisors to ensure that what is being taught is correct, meeting the standards of the school. The typical way that evaluations or assessments are done is by giving a test but the book provides three other ways this can be done.

• New Teaching Assessment : How supervisors will assess a teacher's work
• Student Assessment : How you will assess students' learning and your own effectiveness as                                      a teacher.
• Student Self Assessment : How students will participate in the assessment process.

It should be obvious that new teachers are assessed and also students as well but what is interesting is the last kind of assessment discussed. Student self assessment, which is helpful for the students in that it asks the question,"What have you learned?" which should take some time for them to answer. It is an alternative or even a task that can be added on to an end of semester exam for example. Which requires students to self evaluate, this not only helps them better understand what they've learned but also provides the teacher information to add to their own records.

2.) Evaluations are inevitable for current and future teachers, and being prepared for them is very important to becoming a good educator. One of the best ways to be prepared is by creating an electronic teacher portfolio, which the book describes as a "collection of educational and professional materials stored in an electronic format".  In the past this was done and stored in large paper files but now that we have been gifted with technology all of the information can be stored on a flashdrive or in the cloud. It also allows easy access to those who need to see

 A teacher portfolio should contain the following:

• A Resume
• Teaching Philosophy
• Lesson Plan
• Level of Experience
• Academic Experience

3.) Here is a video found through I.D.E.A (Institute for Democratic Education in America) that gives  statistics to paint a picture of what schools in America focus on and what they should focus on. The organization is rich with information and ideas on bettering the American schooling system.

                                   

Found on YouTube credit to goodideafolks 

The ultimate goal of all teachers should be to help students achieve their greatest potential in and outside of the classroom. Although this is true it seems as though schools are just preparing students for the next big standardized test. There is a place for standardized testing, they should not be thrown out of curriculums, but they should not be prioritized the way that they currently are. Students are individuals that have strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. What should be prioritized teaching students to learn more about themselves, engage them in lessons that show them what they may be able to achieve one day. 

References:

• Maloy, R. (2011). Engaging Students in Performance Assessment and Reflective Learning. InIn Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 276 - 293). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
• Make Your Voice Heard: Discover Democratic Education. (2010, March 10). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_LbZ3XcfK4
• Institute for Democratic Education in America | IDEA. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2015, from http://www.democraticeducation.org/