INTASC Reflection
InTASC 6 essentially describes the teacher’s responsibility to assess his/her students in manner that engages them in their own development and learning, accurately reflects the students ability as it relates to what is being taught, and it guides both the teacher and student in what to do next.
Many may perceive assessment is a necessary evil, but it doesn’t have to be. Assessment is a necessary step that should be taken throughout the learning process as both formative and summative assessments. In doing so, both the teacher and the student can monitor how they are doing in the class and measures can be taken prior to a summative assessment in order to ensure that the student understands and can recall the material while the teacher can understand how well they are communicating their content. Teachers should also take into account when formative assessments need to be dealt and when a summative assessment needs to be dealt. There should be sufficient time between various formative assessments before the summative assessment is given. This ensures the opportunity for both student and teacher to learn how they are doing and to, again, take the necessary steps of action if need be.
It should also be noted that teachers should also have an interest in creating an environment that fosters understanding and comfort regarding assessments. As more and more emphasis is being placed on the consequences of grading (ie. college acceptance, high school graduation, sports, clubs, etc), there seems to be a rise in the amount of anxiety surrounding grades and assessments in particular. The inherency of assessments marks it as necessary, though the many of hours of PARC testings value is debatable. For now, what teachers can do is create a classroom environment that understands the necessity of humouring exams and tests and assessments and pushes students to do well on them but that also attempts to alleviate and communicate some of the shared anxiety that comes with it.
In the Spanish classroom, the importance of varying the type of assessments is of extreme relevance. Language is one of the most dynamic noticed objects in the observable environment and the assessments need to reflect that. More often than not, a summative assessment in a foreign language classroom takes multiple days, has various parts all assessing interpersonal speaking, presentational writing, presentational speech, and grammar and vocabulary. These items reflect the ACTFL standards. Teachers of course have the option, and often do take it, to focus their summative assessments on one or two of the items listed above, but the next exam would have to vary yet again in a different way.
Many may perceive assessment is a necessary evil, but it doesn’t have to be. Assessment is a necessary step that should be taken throughout the learning process as both formative and summative assessments. In doing so, both the teacher and the student can monitor how they are doing in the class and measures can be taken prior to a summative assessment in order to ensure that the student understands and can recall the material while the teacher can understand how well they are communicating their content. Teachers should also take into account when formative assessments need to be dealt and when a summative assessment needs to be dealt. There should be sufficient time between various formative assessments before the summative assessment is given. This ensures the opportunity for both student and teacher to learn how they are doing and to, again, take the necessary steps of action if need be.
It should also be noted that teachers should also have an interest in creating an environment that fosters understanding and comfort regarding assessments. As more and more emphasis is being placed on the consequences of grading (ie. college acceptance, high school graduation, sports, clubs, etc), there seems to be a rise in the amount of anxiety surrounding grades and assessments in particular. The inherency of assessments marks it as necessary, though the many of hours of PARC testings value is debatable. For now, what teachers can do is create a classroom environment that understands the necessity of humouring exams and tests and assessments and pushes students to do well on them but that also attempts to alleviate and communicate some of the shared anxiety that comes with it.
In the Spanish classroom, the importance of varying the type of assessments is of extreme relevance. Language is one of the most dynamic noticed objects in the observable environment and the assessments need to reflect that. More often than not, a summative assessment in a foreign language classroom takes multiple days, has various parts all assessing interpersonal speaking, presentational writing, presentational speech, and grammar and vocabulary. These items reflect the ACTFL standards. Teachers of course have the option, and often do take it, to focus their summative assessments on one or two of the items listed above, but the next exam would have to vary yet again in a different way.
Artifact: Validated Practices Project (VPP)
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