Rubris

"Write a rubric?! What's suppose to be in a rubric?!" Those were my first thought the first time I was told to include a rubric with my lesson. I had no idea where to begin and I absolutely hated the idea of rubrics. Now, after reading and watching videos on rubrics, I know the purpose for them! Before I thought they were pointless and a waste of time. Boy, has my mind changed.

A rubric is a great way to let a student know what is expected of them. If a student knows what a teacher is looking for in their work, the work given now becomes more effective. Another plus to rubrics is the fairness(in a sense). A teacher cannot grade on whether she likes or dislikes a student when following a rubric -- it is solely based on the rubric and what is included in the students work. A rubric clearly states what is expected and how to obtain a specific grade.

After Chapter 10(and seeing the Rubistar website), I have a new take on rubrics. I will now enjoy creating rubrics more and plan on using them in my classroom! I feel rubrics are a fair evaluation of a students work because there is no reason to receive a bad grade!

Learning Targets

Learning targets are meant to clearly say what a student is going to learn. Learning targets will be used in all subjects; Math, Reading, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, etc. I think setting learning targets is important because it allows teachers to focus on developing skills for each child at the correct level. Learning targets are also good in the sense of assessment. By having them, teachers can assess students frequently and help the child before the students grade is effected dramatically.

I like the idea of learning targets because it allows school districts to set targets for each grade level. Learning targets are usually based on standards established by the state. The ultimate question would be: Where are we going?

Another topic discussed in Chapter 3 was taxonimies. There are three categories of the taxonimies of thinking skills: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Taxonomy is used to categorize learning targets. To me, I like Bloom's taxonomy. Maybe because all the education classes I have taken have drilled it into me so I understand it more fully. In the chapter it discussed how Bloom's has been revised to not be six categories but only 3. I personally don't like the thought of that. However, I do believe that learning targets help teachers and students focus on specific goals and make it a better way to know what you are trying to assess.

Fairness in Assessment

In the previous chapter and blog, I realized assessment was not just tests and that it was unfair to assess students just this way. There are many ways to assess a student (projects, tests, papers, observations, rubrics, etc.). In my personal opinion, I believe fairness in assessment is having guidelines readily available to the students. Before reading this chapter, (and having Dr. Luongo discuss rubrics in her teaching reading class), I was not a big fan of them but my feelings have since changed. I now realize that rubrics lay everything out on the line. A student cannot claim they did not know how they were being graded if you give the rubric with guidelines to them. I think this is a great way to show fairness when dealing with assessment.

It is very easy for a teacher to grade a student based on a rubric and have documentation showing what was expected. However, I still have realized there is still room to change a grade based on personal feelings, sterotypes, etc. After I was thinking about it, I seached the web(simply went to google and typed fairness in assessment) and found this site- http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~smx/PGCHE/fairness.html

In that site it discusses fairness in assessment and how ideally assessment should not discriminate. In the last paragraph of the site it talks about how a native English speaking student will be punished for grammatical errors when writing but a non-native English speaker will not because we are interested in the material the essay is based rather than their ability to write good English. This is where I ask you, is this fair?

What is assessment?

To me, assessment always meant taking tests. Taking tests was a way to evaluate a students work. Of course, tests are only one of many assessment techniques a teacher can use. For example, to avoid the stress most students getting when taking a test, a project may be a better option for assessment. If a project is assigned rather then a test, the student can work at their own pace and in a setting where they are comfortable.

I do believe it is unfair to use tests as an only way of assessment, but do realize that tests may be one of the easiest, fastest ways. As a bad test taker myself, I think that if a test where introduced in a more relaxed manner maybe students would not get so worked up and maybe even scores would increase slightly.

I understand fully that students need to be assessed but we all know that when a student is informed they are going to be assessed they go into panic mode. I know for me, that once I complete the test or assessment, majority of the material I had to memorize is forgotten. That is one thing I do not want to make my students feel. I want to make assessment something not to get worked up over, maybe even find a way to make it fun!

A little about me and how I decided I wanted to be a teacher!

Hi everyone! For those of you that do not know me, my name is Erica De Medici and I am a sophomore here at Saint Peter's! I grew up in North Arlington, and then moved to Point Pleasant (where I still live) during my sophomore year in high school. I love sports, especially soccer. I also enjoy basketball, hockey and many others. In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, family and boyfriend.

Okay, so now onto how I decided I wanted to become a teacher. For as long as I can remember, I always loved school(not necessarily the work that came along with it). I loved the school atmosphere. For example, during 3rd grade and 5th grade almost everyday was spent after school helping my teacher organize her classroom clean it up, or do small fun projects. Sometimes there were days I would stay with my teacher until almost five o'clock! (I bet she couldn't wait to get rid of me at the end of the year!) Anyway, I came to Saint Peter's knowing I wanted to become a teacher. At one point in deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I thought I may of wanted to become a special education teacher. After taking elementary ed courses and speaking to a few special ed teachers I know, I realized that maybe general elementary ed was for me. So here I am, in my sophomore year and getting started on my way towards becoming a elementary school teacher!

First Class

Hi, I'm here in class starting my blog. I'm excited to start my Test and Measurements online course. This class is already so different from any other I have taken in the past. I'll come back and write more later!