Formative Assessment 3.0

It's very hard to believe that this is the last assignment I will be submitting for this class. In looking at this assignment, I have tweaked it from the first of the assignments. After looking where I started, I needed to explain myself more in a lot of my thought process as to why I was choosing to go a certain way in my assessment. I still find it harder to give kindergarteners an assessment, mainly because I am teaching by myself, and 5 year olds are not always quite or willing to let their teacher focus on one thing at a time. I like the idea of adding a technology piece so that it is easier on my to put a child on a computer and work through their activities.  So here is my final assessment of my formative piece.

Second Draft

First draft

My Best Work

My best piece of work for CEP 813 was my Minecraft assignment. Using Minecraft as an assessment tool was one of my biggest challenges, and also my biggest learning experience throughout  the class. I never saw how a game that my students play consistently could be turned into a classroom assignment that they can build worlds in and be assessed upon.

I began the week on the assignment having difficulty loading the software onto my computer. Though I have loaded many things onto my computer, the new windows program lead to learning how to reinstall the video option, microphone, and even speakers back onto my computer.Although that was not my only learning experience, it was one that happened that week.

When it came down to the assignment, I had never played Minecraft before. My students talk about it all the time and had even shown me books about how to play the game, but I never truly understood. In the assignment, we were required to build our own world and give assignments throughout the world. My biggest problem with this, is that I teach kindergarten and most of my students cannot read on their own and a lot of them do not always have the help at home that would be necessary for them to complete the assignments. I have to think out of the box about the basic things that they are able to do. When it comes to building, I know that my students are capable of doing so in Minecraft because they are the ones who showed me what to do. I wanted to make the signs with simple instructions, so that if the student had a sibling to help, they would be able to do so.

I liked that for our part in the assignment, we were able to create a screen cast. I was able to explain why I chose certain aspects, and show areas of my project on my own terms. I felt confident in being able to show what I was doing and explain it at the same time. I believe that some students would really enjoy being able to give a screen cast because they are always wanting to show what they are working on and what they are doing. I have never knew that using a screen cast software would be so easy.

The lessons I could take from this assignment is that there are times that you can meet your students in activities and pull out ways to assess them. For students, I can really see the passion in them with working on something that they love and being allowed to do so because it is for school. I also learned that technology is not always a friend, and although things should be easy to install, that is not always the case. Lastly, I learned that while I always thought that screen casts were complicated and a lot of work, I found out that they are actually quite simple to do, and very beneficial for students to show what they are working on.

CMS Activity Assessment

In this activity we looked into using CMS as a way of offering digital assessments for our students. I always have to think a little bit outside of the box when it comes to doing these assignments since I teach kindergartners. My students love to work with technology and I use it as a reward to play games on my phone and such, but when it comes to the reading aspect of the technology is when we run into problems. That is why for this assignment, while I used Edmodo as a starting place, I connected another website for them to actually do the assignment.

Power my learning offers the opportunity for my students to take an assessment, while being given instruction on what to do during the activity. It also allows for me to assign different assessments to children if I need to throughout the year. I like the idea of having CMS around because it allows for students to go online and complete things, without having to have all the paper work around. It also allows for teachers to meet students where they like to spend their time, on the computer.

Here is my screen cast  of my assessment activity.

My Sandbox for Professional Growth

In the beginning of CEP 813, I was confused about how assessments and blog posts would relate to each other through out this program. When it comes to thinking about assessment, my mind is so wired to the way of standardized testing. I am so use to talking about NWEA data that we use at school, and how the students are scoring on that, that I forget that assessment can include different assignments and stages of learning. When it comes to thinking about blog posts, I always think of people who have a lot of free time that can explain life details or give advice daily. Never did I see them both connecting together to gain a new perspective to keep track of learning.

Through reading of my blog, I can see my growth not only as a teacher, but also as a student. In the beginning, I could not tell you what a precis was or even how to write it. Even when it came to linking a site with a word, I did not fully understand. I was very confused as to how and why we submitted our assignments the way we do. But now at the end of our class,  I see that it was so that we could reflect on how we can use a variety of things to assess our students in their learning.  It was a way to teach adults who may have grown up in technology just some new ways to do things that your students may know more than you about.

Throughout my blogs, you can see the growth I had as a teacher, along with how I understood the assignments. Some weeks, the work was tough and confusing to me, while other times I understood ideas. I also can reflect on that I need to explain myself more in blog posts, rather than just writing a quit blurb and turning it in. I was able to explain frustration on some, like the Minecraft assignment, while also seeing how truly beneficial that program would be to my students throughout the year. Setting up a digital portfolio allows for me to look back on these assignments and see where I need to work on things, and where I can see some of my passions in the program. I never thought that I would learn that creating a blog, would lead to my very own start to an educators portfolio.

Theory to Practice

I have always wanted to create a digital portfolio to use as an educator. The process has always been confusing and overwhelming to me at the same time. Through doing the work for this class, I have come to realize that is is more of a time in the day type of problem more than a not knowing how to do so. With that being said, I have realized that as an educator the best thing I could do is to create my own digital portfolio. It allows for me to keep track of my own work, lesson plans, lesson ideas, and assessments all in one place, without having to look through a variety of binders, blogs, and computer files. The organization alone is a huge help. It also allows for me to compare work of my students to previous years. I am able to showcase each year what my class is doing and how hard they are working through an assignment, but also reflect on what worked and didn't work in the process. I will than be able to learn from the experience that I have gained in the work, and work towards creating new goals.

Creating a portfolio for students is something that I think my school desperately needs to do. With a high teacher turn over rate year to year in our charter school, most teachers end up keeping their student's work themselves, and not allowing the students to really see how they have grown. I think that if we created a digital area where students can see where they started from in Kindergarten, going all the way up to eighth grade, they would really begin to get that sense of ownership and pride that can continue throughout high school. Last year, our eighth grade students made a portfolio just for their eighth grade year to present to the school staff, and seeing the presentations they gave was not only heartwarming, but also a learning experience. When the student could explain why they chose an assignment and where it lead them to, they truly connected with it and understood what work they needed to do. The portfolio also impacted them, because when they come to visit us, they still talked about how much pride they had in that assignment and wanted to add to it through their high school years. In Niguidula (2005), he talks about making portfolios meaningful to students and that they can serve a variety of contexts with either best work, expectations for graduation, and as a way to communicate with parents. I believe that having this in a digital context allows for students to carry it with them through the years and watch how much they have grown over the years.


Niguidula, D. (2005). Documenting learning wtih digital portfolios. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 44-47

Creating an assessment

For this week, we continued to work on our formative assessments. I continued to work with what our math assessments are lacking in, while also trying to make it easier for teachers. I find that including technology into math is a lot easier to do than reading at the kindergarten level. I have to think a lot about what my students are capable of doing on their own, and what they would need full instruction on to complete. The hardest part for my students is when it comes to feedback. They can not read as well as older grades, so a lot of their feedback has to be verbal. However, when it comes to an assessment, we have to keep a record of what they have done. The feedback created for this, would be for the parents to see the growth and progress, while the students would be receiving verbal  feedback. With that here is the next part of my formative assessment.

For review, here is the first part.

CMS Assessment Creation

This week we created a CMS assessment online for students. With teaching kindergarten, I always find that you have to search for ways to really make it beneficial for the students to use. I took one of the websites that I use daily in my classroom, and created a grouping of games for the students to play. The website tracks points and scores and emails them to me when a student is done. I am able to see how a student is doing, and what they are struggling on. With that link, I embedded it on to Edmodo. I liked Edmodo for the fact that I can send messages out, and polls to collect answers. However, with teaching kindergarten, I am going to get more parent interaction, than student. Creating links and activities for students to connect to is a wonderful way to use this CMS in the classroom. It allows for me to have a record book of what students have accomplished, along with also having a cut off period to use. Here is my screencast of how I connected the assessment. 

CMS in the school

I review three different CMS options for this assignment. Two of the options were offered by the course, the other one is the NWEA Skill Builder Dashboard that my school is beginning to use. When it came down to deciding which one would have the most benefit for my classroom, I chose Google Classroom. I liked it because it has a section where you can search for different lessons, whether you are a student or a teacher. I also liked it as an organizational resource. You could store those resources in the tool to use on a yearly basis. You can connect apps throughout the lessons that your students can go do work in, while also attaching an assignment for them to work on at home. It connects to an email and communication, where you can  have a class discussion with students who are having difficulties. If necessary, I can also video conference with a parent, which would help  with certain techniques and routines that I use in classroom on any given day. Here is my review of the CMS options.

Minecraft and Assessment

This week we created our own minecraft worlds. It also began the week of learning technology is never reliable and that sometimes, 6 year olds really know what they are doing when it comes to Minecraft. I spent a lot of time this week playing in students video games trying to learn new concepts and even just how to build. Through this, I saw just how great this game is for my students and how I could use it for their advantage. The students hold a HUGE interest in building and collecting things throughout the worlds. Using this type of activity with rules and requirements would allow for students to begin to grasp a concept of becoming a builder and working on math skills without even realizing it. The following video allows just for one idea of assessment with Kindergartners.

Minecraft Tutorial

This week we began our Minecraft tutorial. Technology was not on my side as I learned that first the software did not want to download, then  my microphone on my computer did not want to work. I was reminded how much technology can be frustrating while trying to also assess in the world. Things do not always go according to plan. While playing minecraft, I was reminded of my first time playing video games and what the games would look like. Today there is a lot of technology that allows for that to change. I am also use to playing video games in today's screens, as compared to the screen I will be working in for minecraft. It has a very different feel.

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/co6uV8hi7c

Here is the final Piktochart  .  I did take into account some of the changes that Nicole had offered me in the process. I really like this assignment for the fact I was able to communicate with a course member.

Piktochart for Schools

For this week's assignment we had to create a Piktochart based on online tools that we look at. With these assignments I sometimes have a hard time looking at my demographic of kindergartners. While they are learning more about technology in their day to day lives, it is not always easy to get them to explain themselves or understand why we are working on a certain area. I chose 3 online tools that had games and interactive activities for them, whether it be whole class or individual. I have learned over my years of teaching young children, that if you don't make it a game or fun, they do not want to participate in it. So here is my Piktochart  for my students to use throughout the year.

Creating a Formative Assessment

This week I began the process of creating an assessment. In doing so, I had to look at what I would be able to use in the classroom with kindergartners. At the school I am at, we use a variety of assessments through out the year. Some are electronic, while others are pages and pages of information for teachers to fill in. While we are always assessing students to see what they are learning in reading, we are putting some math skills on the back burner. For this assignment, I looked at ways to create a math assessment that I would be able to use this year on my students. The electronic format of it is nice, because I have noticed through years of teaching, that students enjoy things more if they are able to do something on a cell phone or computer. Please see my  Formative assessment piece.

Assessment Genre

This week I looked at  how to use formative assessment during instruction and the value that it has with teaching. I talked about math assessment in specific, because at the school I am at, we are constantly doing math assessments about every 2-3 weeks. I go over how to use assessment in a way that would be more instructional for teaching and allowing us to push our students to be on grade level or above more.
Assessment Genre

RSLA Assessment

The assessment that I will be looking at is the Kindergarten Reading assessment we use at my school. It is an 18 page assessment that we give to each kindergartener 3 times throughout the year. The assessment is given like a test to the students. Sections of the assessment are given as a whole group, while other parts are given one on one with a teacher or para. The purpose of this assessment is to see the growth of the students throughout the year. It is also to see what the child needs to be retaught or what the teacher should work on.

    The assessment aligns with the common core reading standards that are covered throughout the year. The standards are even written into the assessment above each question. The information that the assessment gives about each student is what they have learned about letter sounds, letter recognition, punctuation, rhyming words, phonemic awareness, and beginning reading skills. It shows the teacher what concepts the students grasp and what concepts they may need to continue to work on. The first time that this assessment is given, it does give the teacher a previous knowledge spectrum to see where their students are coming from.  I intend to use the information to see what areas I need to continue teaching in and what areas I can move on from teaching.

    I assume that this assessment will show me the knowledge that my students have retained. I also assume that the students will be able to understand the wording of the assessment and what they are being asked to do. If the student does not answer the question correctly, if at all, I assume that the student does not know the answer. The skills I assume that the student will have to answer the questions is to be able to write with a pencil on a piece of paper. I also assume that they will have the verbal skills to answer questions.

    The length of this assessment would provide difficulty to all students. It is not an assessment that can be completed all at once due to the students being 5 and not being able to sit for a 45 minute assessment. The assessment would also be difficult for students who are lacking verbal and/or writing skills. They may be able to demonstrate the skill in one way, but not in both in the beginning of the school year.

    One way to make this assessment easier to give to students is to break it up into parts. I feel that if you were to give the parts as a pre and post test to each unit I was teaching, it would make for a shorter test that would allow for students to complete in a different manor. I also believe that giving the full assessment at once to a student can be overwhelming to them. It could lead to them having anxiety about taking said assessment, and not knowing the answers to the questions all at once. Breaking down of the assessment would lead to being able to see throughout the year what students have learned. At the end of the year, you could go over what the student has missed on previous questions to see if they have gained the knowledge at a different pace than the other students. 

 RSLA Assessment

My precis on how assessment can effect learning. I looked at how as teachers we give an assessment but then we don't look at how to use that assessment to affect our teaching or reach our students.

Shepard vs. Black/Wiliam

Shepard and Black/Wiliam