Below I'm sharing the criteria we used to determine the level of questions and a rough blueprint. As we were blueprinting we realized we needed to beef up some questions to reach the desired ration of 35:45:20 for low, moderate and high level questions.
I've been fortunate this year as a new teacher to be selected for the District's Math Assessment Committee. We have been focused this year on creating strong blueprinted exams for grade 7, 8 and 9. In the beginning we worked on unit tests that had been shared district wide. We reviewed them analyzing each question for taxonomic level (low, moderate, high) and identified which specific outcome and achievement indicator the question was testing. It has been amazing to get to share ideas with a wide range of math teachers, with various experiences. Below I'm sharing the criteria we used to determine the level of questions and a rough blueprint. As we were blueprinting we realized we needed to beef up some questions to reach the desired ration of 35:45:20 for low, moderate and high level questions.
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For those of you who have never hear of LethCamp or the EdCamp model of Professional Development here is your crash course! An edcamp is an opportunity for likeminded, passionate educators to come together to benefit the learning of students. Lethcamp is participant driven, meaning you come and learn about exactly what you want to learn about! The day is fluid in nature to provide you with the most organic opportunities to learn and grow! As a member of the organizing committee for LethCamp 2015 I was pleased to see the turn out of pre-service teachers and practicing teachers eager to share and learn from each others experience. We had phenomenal support from the ATA locals in Lethbridge, the ULSU and Education Undergraduate Society. As part of LethCamps' technology focus we had a participant in each session share their key learnings for those who were at another session or who were not able to make it to the conference. You can check out some of the learning that happened here. Or check out the LethCamp website for more information and upcoming events! There are many witnesses to my frequent complaints about self reflection. Uncountable eye-rolls sent in the direction of teachers, umpteen sighs of distaste, and numerous nights of "just get something on the page and the fluffier it is the more they will eat it up!" Four weeks ago, in the midst of my PS1 course work, this was still my predominate attitude. But, as a reflect *shutter* back on my most significant learning, I would have to say that being forced to reflect on every lesson plan, group project, and experience i've had in the past 8 weeks has actually done me some good.
In a learning sense, I've found that reflection forces students to think back to what actually stuck with them. Maybe nothing did, which tells the student they should probably pay more attention to what's going on, or maybe something groundbreaking stuck with them. I know I've had a couple of both moments over the past 8 weeks. I've found that being able to think back on what i've done and experienced gives that experience another level of learning, and stays with the student longer. In a personal sense, I've had a big helping of humble pie. I really don't know how to be a highly effective teacher... yet. I have had superb teachers model what this looks like, but I haven't done it for myself. I am not going to get better if I don't reflect upon what I do and how to improve. Albert Einstein said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result." Without reflection, I may indeed go insane. My effective teaching skills will grow as I go through practicum, and they will stay with me longer and be most meaningful if I take the time to reflect on what goes well and why along with what goes poorly and why. (I anticipate answering the latter part most often.) I've come to realize that reflection is not always fluffy, "how did this make you feel" stuff. It is ownership of learning, checking for understanding and bettering yourself. These skills, are my most valuable learning so far in PS1. How can I ensure powerful learning for students? The video below highlights 8 essential conditions for powerful learning: 1. Feeling Okay 5. Have a Coach 2. Make it matter 6. Use it or Loose it 3. Own the information 7. Think back on it 4. Stretch the learner 8. Plan Next Steps A couple of these really stick out to myself as a pre-service teacher. Feeling okay, this is number one for a reason. If a student feels hungry, tired, worried, stressed, or distracted, powerful learning is not going to happen. What does ensuring students feel okay look like? I think it looks like a classroom community, which is often evident in the elementary years, but in my experience High school could use some help. In the High School years there is way more of a preoccupation with what other peers think; which leads to not asking question or not answering questions for fear of being wrong. As teachers we should be creating an environment where it is okay to be wrong and students are encouraged to take risks or face a fear. Another that resinates with me: "use it or loose it." I see it in myself as a learner all the time. I learned how to integrate by parts (aka fancy integration for ugly functions) two years ago, wrote the final, and now if you asked me to Integrate a function by parts I would struggle because I have not used it since I wrote the final. I had a teacher in Jr. High that would include "Blast from the Past" on her exams to have us recall the skills we had learned in previous chapters. This helped immensely when it came time to write the end of year final because months and months hadn't gone by since the last time I used the material. Powerful learning is starting students at the bottom and working up in accomplishable and celebrated steps. Challenging them to go one step further; yes you know the information now do something with it, create something with it. Having students process on the higher levels of Blooms taxonomy and connecting material to their own lives. Through I only focused on two, all of these elements are critical for powerful learning. They all require us as educators to know and adapt to the contextual variables within the class, so that each student is experiencing powerful learning. |
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