Daily Formative Self Assessment Day 4: August 1

[Ralph Cordova]

Yesterday you had explored your math and ELL teaching needs...with with the assistance of your ThinkingPartner and concluded developing a needs statement for your ThinkingPartner.

Today we began by first working with your ThinkingPartner, to clarify each other's needs statement. We played Yes-But, Yes-And and used that mindset to envision solutions to your partner's needs.

Ron's led his two sessions with Nicola acting as his ThinkingPartner in the morning, and Shawn his ThinkingPartner in the afternoon.

Please post:

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of a plan (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

[2riwcg7m81iio]

. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it?

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

Mary's need statement: Mary needs a way to structure keeping a log of notes about her students. (What will it look like? What is the purpose? How is it organized?)

I think this could be a great way of keeping data via anecdotal notes for her students. I would suggest keeping a different notebook for each subject.  Each notebook should be divided and tabbed so that each student has a section of the notebook.  This will help with organization as well as making it easier to find and reference notes about specific students. 

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I notice in my thinking that I write down key points that the presenter says as well as experiences.  For example, I might write " we watched a video of Caleb and Tatijuna".  This serves as a tool to jog my memory of what we did which will remind me of key points.

[Mitzy Barnstead]

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

I refined the need statement for Sarah by narrowing it down to, "Sarah needs to obtain strategies to support students with math reasoning. I then brainstormed people she could turn to for ideas (mentor, Ron, Nicola) as well as things she can do that may act as a strategy (require students to explain thinking, have them share out so others hear, use a math notebook to record thinking, use word problem organizers, review Common Core to determine big ideas...).

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I have been writing about how to use what we have learned with Ron. I am trying to be reflective and determine how what we are learning with him will best fit into my teaching to support my students. I keep going back to "what can I do with this". Also, my goal which Sarah has created for me hits on this reflective piece as well. It's all coming together to help me figure out how to use what I have learned.

[3dy8ddi5c73kn]

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Shaisha needs a way to give assessments by not making her students feel as though they are being assessed. She needs a way to differentiate instruction and create as many lessons as she can.

I could refine it by giving her concrete examples by showing her what that would actually look like in the classroom. That goes for the lesson planning as well.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I noticed that I have been trying to get a deeper understanding by putting what I have learned into my own words. I notice that my observation skills are not where I would like it to be and it leaves me to sort of struggle when I have to answer questions. 

[3bloduplhogvh]

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of a plan (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

I offered several thoughts for Maggie on assessing basic needs of her students.  One of the other things that she expressed and was in her needs statement, was teaching math as a third language with SLA.  I think she should create a checklist with the language objectives as well as the math language from the WIDA standards.  Having this checklist will ensure that she covers the standards of WIDA for her students as well as the basic needs for her students.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I reflect on my own misconceptions of my previous students and reflect on ways I can make changes to my current practice.  My underlying statement has been that I need to assess my students to find out where they truly are and  meet them there. 

 

[39dlktwp0qyy9]

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of a plan (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

The needs statement I developed for Liz stated that "Liz needs to examine the amount and type of supports she provides her students as well as gauge the amount of modeling/prompting she does while they are working."  One idea I had for Liz to help her determine supports was to work with the teachers in the grade beneath hers to have ideas beforehand of what works and doesn't work for particular students.  I also suggested networking with other grade level teachers to see what they are doing in their classes that appears to be working.  Another idea I have was preparing some type of quick-reference resource with information about the students that she can easily assess when things don't seem to be going well.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I noticed in all of my postings I have been trying to summarize the main ideas of the day, while discussing how I hope to use what was discussed in my future practice.  A common theme in the posts is the idea of bridging knowledge from what the students already know to what we want them to learn, regardless of where they are starting from.  I think this idea was discussed again today when we talked about the variations of PGBM, and how to make students who can't yet learn from PGBM feel included by participating in similar activities that help them develop concept of number in order to progress on to PGBM.  Many of my posts have also focused on how observations guide our understanding of where students are in their level of conceptual understanding and how these observations can shape our instructional practices.

[2cokjuu2vpewe]

Mitzy,

Your remarks to sarah made me recall old days when I started teaching at a teacher education program.  There was a mentor who walked through my first journey of teaching in the college classroom.  Sarah would appreciate some of your ideas!!!  

Mitzy Barnstead said:

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

I refined the need statement for Sarah by narrowing it down to, "Sarah needs to obtain strategies to support students with math reasoning. I then brainstormed people she could turn to for ideas (mentor, Ron, Nicola) as well as things she can do that may act as a strategy (require students to explain thinking, have them share out so others hear, use a math notebook to record thinking, use word problem organizers, review Common Core to determine big ideas...).

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I have been writing about how to use what we have learned with Ron. I am trying to be reflective and determine how what we are learning with him will best fit into my teaching to support my students. I keep going back to "what can I do with this". Also, my goal which Sarah has created for me hits on this reflective piece as well. It's all coming together to help me figure out how to use what I have learned.

[2cokjuu2vpewe]

Ashanti,

I agree with you that the teacher's sample actually helps to many students even though the process to create the final destination that each student has to figure it out.  For some students, it might not be necessary to show the sample.  What about you?  

Ashanti Edwards said:

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Shaisha needs a way to give assessments by not making her students feel as though they are being assessed. She needs a way to differentiate instruction and create as many lessons as she can.

I could refine it by giving her concrete examples by showing her what that would actually look like in the classroom. That goes for the lesson planning as well.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I noticed that I have been trying to get a deeper understanding by putting what I have learned into my own words. I notice that my observation skills are not where I would like it to be and it leaves me to sort of struggle when I have to answer questions. 

[2cokjuu2vpewe]

Donna,

What about thinking backward?  Having WIDA in your mind, start with the needs in terms of academic, cognitive and cross-cultural background each student brings to the class.  Then we work together with the students about language anchors and learning strategies to lead them to the next schema. I like the idea of having checklist rather than depending on our memory.  My two cents.

Donna Butler said:

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of a plan (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

I offered several thoughts for Maggie on assessing basic needs of her students.  One of the other things that she expressed and was in her needs statement, was teaching math as a third language with SLA.  I think she should create a checklist with the language objectives as well as the math language from the WIDA standards.  Having this checklist will ensure that she covers the standards of WIDA for her students as well as the basic needs for her students.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I reflect on my own misconceptions of my previous students and reflect on ways I can make changes to my current practice.  My underlying statement has been that I need to assess my students to find out where they truly are and  meet them there. 

 

[2cokjuu2vpewe]

Liz,

Keeping a log is a way that you become an action researcher!!!

Elizabeth Barnstead said:

. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it?

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

Mary's need statement: Mary needs a way to structure keeping a log of notes about her students. (What will it look like? What is the purpose? How is it organized?)

I think this could be a great way of keeping data via anecdotal notes for her students. I would suggest keeping a different notebook for each subject.  Each notebook should be divided and tabbed so that each student has a section of the notebook.  This will help with organization as well as making it easier to find and reference notes about specific students. 

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

I notice in my thinking that I write down key points that the presenter says as well as experiences.  For example, I might write " we watched a video of Caleb and Tatijuna".  This serves as a tool to jog my memory of what we did which will remind me of key points.

[3r9xsaac5iuff]

1.  Joe's need statement is "Joe needs to implement a variety of questioning techniques to probe his students thinking in math reasoning and all content areas."  

Today as I thought about a prototype related to Joe's need statement there were several things that came to mind.  I think it would be good for him to seek out research and resources on questioning techniques that are effective  with young learners, as well as observe other teachers and watch the questioning techniques they use with their students.  I think Joe has to be purposeful about questioning in his instructional planning and think ahead of time what it is he wants to find out about his students.  Preparing questions before the lesson will help him acquire the knowledge he wants from his students during the actual lesson or activity.  Joe's classroom environment should be one of mutual respect and trust where the learner's know that questions help them think about their learning as they explain their reasoning to the teacher or others.  Anchor charts and visuals of questions posted around the classroom would suggest to Joe's students that in Mr. Kim's classroom, we talk about our thinking.  Most of all, I think Joe's questioning techniques will be effective if he is reflective about the questions he asks his students each day.  Did his questions help him probe and get the information he wanted to find out about his students?  He then can build on or change his questions as needed.

 

2.  My noticings seem to largely consist of the statements or information that either Debra or Ron have shared that I feel has a direct impact on my thinking about my own teaching.   Many of my noticings are reminders to take the time to truly get to know my students as people and learners.  This includes observations, questioning, and using their background information and previous test scores as tools in planning the best instruction I can for each and every one of them.   These noticings also include the importance of asking questions and having my learners explain their thinking.   Recognizing and providing the supports my ELL students need to help them  learn has also been a key point for me.   The concept of number information has been a real eye-opener for me.  I realize that in the past I taught many math skills and just assumed students had it.  My math instruction will be very different from now on.  

[2cokjuu2vpewe]

I am deeply moved to observe everybody in terms of thinking ahead or thinking up rather than thinking on!  Thank you for being attentive throughout the week.  We have one more day to go.  I took the MKT today, and believe or not, I was able to finish the test THINKING up!!  Thanks everybody including the presenting team (Ron & Nicola), QTEL leading team members (Ralph, Jerome, shawn, Ibtihal and Kim), Cynthia, and all of the participating cohort members!!!  I am impressed with the cohort teachers' posting in formative assessment form.  I can't wait to visit each teacher's classroom in Fall. See you all tomorrow.

[0p4w58tioo58b]

1. The drafted prototype you developed for your ThinkingPartner, making sure to include the Needs Statement. Give some more thought to that prototype you shared with your ThinkingPartner...how could you refine it? 

Then come tomorrow prepared to design and develop that prototype, in form of a plan (you'll develop the plan tomorrow in class).

Cecilia's needs statement is as follows:
"Cecilia needs to focus on reasoning and critical thinking when planning math activities."

Based on much of our work with Ron this week, I think this is a very responsive need, although most likely very difficult.  As we discussed today, there are a few ideas that may help Cecilia achieve her need.  Here are a few ideas we discussed:

-  In order to establish the norm of being a critical thinker, establish early the need to explain "how did you get that answer?"  If students are answering this question early and often, she is on her way to creating students with solid reasoning abilities.

-  To have have a plan, before refering to the textbooks, of what critical thinking activity she would like her students to be able to do.  It is very likely that Cecilia's goals of being able to reason and the basic developmental steps she envisions may not be reflected by her resources every step of the way.

- Provide students with the opportunities to complete many different modes of critical thinking using a multitude of supports (hands-on, manipulatives, paper-pencil, movement, etc.) to get her students moving in the direction she wants them to go.

2. Read through your Daily Formative Self-Assessment you have completed until now (4 in total) for the Summer Institute. Describe the kinds of things you have been writing about. What patterns do you notice in your thinking as evidenced in your postings?

Although many of my comments very quite a bit, many of my statements in the "3 more noticings", 'explored', 'envision' and 'enact' sections deal with important big ideas I want to make a norm in my classroom.  I notice that each day seems to focus on the big ideas from each day that should be a part of my thinking and classroom.  For example, notes about including L.O.s, C.O.s and supports for ELLs from one of Debra's discussions, or focusing on reasoning/critical thinking or the developmental path of understanding for obtaining a sense of numbers from a few of Ron's discussions.