It's benchmark week. I know this is a touchy subject in public education, but as a teacher I wanted to express my thoughts about what I like and dislike about standardized testing.
My students took a science benchmark on Friday, ELA today, and they will take Math on Wednesday.
What I like about benchmarks/EOG's:
1. When the content of the test aligns with what I have been teaching.
2. Watching my students use the strategies I have taught them.
3. Getting the results back and feeling successful.
4. Setting goals with my students.
5. Strengthening the confidence in my students.
What I dislike about benchmarks/EOGS:
1. The stress it puts on teachers and students.
2. Poorly written questions.
3. The length of most of them. (The NC Check-In's that we have switched to this year and the perfect length in my opinion.
4. How much emphasis is placed on the test. I always tell my students that the test does not define them or determine their success or failure in my class.
5. When students who know the material test poorly.
Just my thoughts, I realize that testing is just part of it and I will continue to do what is best for my students.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Friday, January 26, 2018
Epic Academy
I am so excited to be invited to be an Community Manager/Mentor for Epic Academy. You might be thinking "Epic what?" Epic Academy is an online, self-paced professional development opportunity for teachers in our district. I have been an active member of the Epic community for about a year now. During that time, I have been able to earn CEU's for the online training and I have participated in. I have earned 14 badges (which are listed below), 19 achievements, and 3 rewards. Epic Academy is broken down into bite-sized learning, called Quests. When a user completes a Quest series, they earn a digital badge. You also, get an actual badge to proudly display on your EPIC EDUCATOR banner. (see pic below) I am so excited to be asked to be a mentor for new users because I am very passionate about the program and I want support other teachers as they begin their journey on EPIC.
My Badges:
Google Docs
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
Google Sheets
Digital Formative Assessment
SAMR
Game Based Learning
Google Slides
Coding
Skype
Google Apps
Google Forms
My Badges:
Google Docs
Youtube
Google Sheets
Digital Formative Assessment
SAMR
Game Based Learning
Google Slides
Coding
Skype
Google Apps
Google Forms
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Today was one of those rare days when I got the opportunity to step out of my classroom as visit 3 amazing 5th grade teachers in our county. I really appreciate the opportunity to learn from others and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting each of their classrooms. Here is a brief reflection of my time in each classroom I visited today.
My teamie and I, have a goal for our students to exceed expected growth this year in Math. We have a record of high proficiency, but have struggled with growth. We are looking to make some changes to the way we teach math this year and we really enjoyed learning from our colleagues today.
The first teacher we visited used a different approach to math word problems. It was something I had never seen or even thought about doing, but I plan to give it a try. She intentionally would not display or print the problem for the students to see, but instead she required them to listen to her read the problem. She would read it more than one time, but it required the students to really listen to what the question was asking. She also required them to draw a picture or model to prove their answer. I was really impressed that all of her students seemed very comfortable with the models. It made me think about my own class and I have to say, my students would not have been able to produce the models like these kids did today. Some of them could do it, but others would struggle to come up with a model to prove their answer.
The other two teachers we visited were from the same school and pretty much taught the same lesson, but they each had their own unique teaching style. We really enjoyed the high level of questioning in one room and the classroom management strategies in the other room.
All in all it was a great day and I look forward to implementing some of these strategies with my own students and hope that it makes a difference.
My teamie and I, have a goal for our students to exceed expected growth this year in Math. We have a record of high proficiency, but have struggled with growth. We are looking to make some changes to the way we teach math this year and we really enjoyed learning from our colleagues today.
The first teacher we visited used a different approach to math word problems. It was something I had never seen or even thought about doing, but I plan to give it a try. She intentionally would not display or print the problem for the students to see, but instead she required them to listen to her read the problem. She would read it more than one time, but it required the students to really listen to what the question was asking. She also required them to draw a picture or model to prove their answer. I was really impressed that all of her students seemed very comfortable with the models. It made me think about my own class and I have to say, my students would not have been able to produce the models like these kids did today. Some of them could do it, but others would struggle to come up with a model to prove their answer.
The other two teachers we visited were from the same school and pretty much taught the same lesson, but they each had their own unique teaching style. We really enjoyed the high level of questioning in one room and the classroom management strategies in the other room.
All in all it was a great day and I look forward to implementing some of these strategies with my own students and hope that it makes a difference.
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