Supporting Learning Development Through Assessment
DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ASSESSMENT:
Supporting Learning Development Through Assessment
Holly Williams
Grand Canyon University-SED 444
February 27th, 2012
Supporting Learning Development Through Assessment Close your eyes and think back to your favorite teacher. What made him or her your favorite? Was it the way they taught you? Did they teach you in a way that you did not entirely know that you were learning? Did they make you want to know more? Most likely what made them your favorite teacher was something about the way they instructed you made a difference in the way that you learned what they were conveying to you. Teaching is not just sitting at the head of a classroom and teaching that 2+2=4 or how to conjugate a verb or about the plants and animals; it’s going far beyond and above just that. Being a teacher means directly touching the future and ensuring that what you are teaching is getting through to your students. Differentiated instruction is defined as tailoring instruction to meet the individual needs of students. It is said that whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction (Tomlinson, 2000). Teachers have a natural desire to focus on learning styles as well as make themselves the best that they can be. Differentiated instruction may have further increased the teachers’ tendency to look at learning styles as an instructionally relevant variable when individualizing instruction in increasing heterogeneous classrooms (Landrum, 2010). There are many different assessment objectives that can be learned by students if we teachers use the right tools to ensure that we reach every single one of our students. Illinois state standards state that one of the objectives for science is that students need to know how to explain how living things, such as organisms function, adapt and change. I would use
Supporting Learning Development Through Assessment
Holly Williams
Grand Canyon University-SED 444
February 27th, 2012
Supporting Learning Development Through Assessment Close your eyes and think back to your favorite teacher. What made him or her your favorite? Was it the way they taught you? Did they teach you in a way that you did not entirely know that you were learning? Did they make you want to know more? Most likely what made them your favorite teacher was something about the way they instructed you made a difference in the way that you learned what they were conveying to you. Teaching is not just sitting at the head of a classroom and teaching that 2+2=4 or how to conjugate a verb or about the plants and animals; it’s going far beyond and above just that. Being a teacher means directly touching the future and ensuring that what you are teaching is getting through to your students. Differentiated instruction is defined as tailoring instruction to meet the individual needs of students. It is said that whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction (Tomlinson, 2000). Teachers have a natural desire to focus on learning styles as well as make themselves the best that they can be. Differentiated instruction may have further increased the teachers’ tendency to look at learning styles as an instructionally relevant variable when individualizing instruction in increasing heterogeneous classrooms (Landrum, 2010). There are many different assessment objectives that can be learned by students if we teachers use the right tools to ensure that we reach every single one of our students. Illinois state standards state that one of the objectives for science is that students need to know how to explain how living things, such as organisms function, adapt and change. I would use
References: Bailey, Jennifer (2008). Differentiated Instruction: Three Teacher’s Perspectives. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=18&sid=17bce110-739b-4232-87a4-3d9b4b8aefec%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ehh&AN=33435085 Chamberlin, Michelle (2011). The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=18&sid=59071e67-ba10-4347-a5ea-3c2da8b9d826%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ehh&AN=70637358 Illinois State Board of Education (2012). Illinois Mathematics Assessment Framework. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://www.isbe.net/assessment/pdfs/iaf_math.pdf Illinois State Board of Education (2012) Illinois Science Assessment Framework. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://www.isbe.net/assessment/pdfs/iaf_science.pdf Landrum, Timothy (2010). Learning Styles in the Age of Differentiated Instruction. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=18&sid=7b810b56-390a-4800-9d10-8c4cfd373270%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ehh&AN=49152689 Tomlinson, Carol (2000). What is Differentiated Instruction? Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/263/ Language in Use (2010). Assessment Objectives for English Language. Retrieved February 27th, 2012 from http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/asa/asob.html