Hold My Chalk

One of the struggles many teachers have is with formative assessment.  Not so much coming up with and administering formative assessments, that isn't difficult.  The difficulty lies in achieving the goals of the formative assessment.  Formative assessments are typically intended to do assess the following goals. Provide the teacher with information about what the student currently understands in order to determine future lessons and the need for review. Provide the student with information about their progress and what needs to be reviewed prior to moving on to the next lesson. All of this hinges on the second goal.  Ultimately, we want students to be the proprietor of their learning.  The struggle comes with keeping students engaged and allowing them to get meaningful information from the assessment.  How do you make the assessment meaningful?  Here are a few ideas. [embed]https://youtu.be/Unodyw8ZE3A[/embed] Here are 10 Fun-Filled Formative Asse...

Many times I find myself saying, "I will try."  Shortly after I hear those words leave my mouth I am reminded of the great philosopher Master Yoda. How often do you find yourself in that same position?  Isn't that just a way to allow yourself an out? I am going to cut down how often I use that phrase.  I don't want to try to get things done, I want to get things done. Are there other phrases we use to give us the chance to back out of doing work?  What about students?  We do not allow students to say "I will try to do my homework."  We want them to do the homework.  We know they are going to have issues, they will struggle at times.  We should realize the same for ourselves.  We are going to struggle at times, but we can't let that darken our outlook. As educators, we are great about getting things done.  When charged with teaching students, we don't say "I'll try."  We take it personally.  We don't give up on them. ...

As a school administrator, I have the privilege of being in multiple classrooms everyday.  This is one of the great joys of being a principal.  It is a joy because it affords me the opportunity to mingle with the students and observe teachers in their element. Granted there are many classrooms that I do not make it into frequently.  This is not that I don't enjoy going into those classes, but if I am walking down the hall and a door is open I will poke my head in.  At that point I will walk around the room to see what the students are working on and often take a seat. Sometimes I sit down in a classroom and don't want to leave.  Either the topic is something I am interested in or the teacher is doing such a great job that I want to see more.  Usually I will take a few notes on technique, pedagogy, classroom management, etc. Sometimes I get so lost in the lesson that I forget to make any notes.  I am a bit of a nerd in that aspect.  I enjoy spending time engaging with great teac...

I am trying to make this a weekly or biweekly occurrence, so here are some links to check out this week.  Most are self explanatory, but if not I have provided a synopsis for you. This first post comes from a teacher that is obviously frustrated with traditional professional development techniques.  I am sure you can relate. Why Don’t We Differentiate Professional Development? | Edutopia While we are on the subject of professional development, check out his article on what makes a good teacher. We Still Don't Know What Makes a Great Teacher - US News . This next post is another from the Edutopia site.  Equity vs. Equality is a concept I have worked for years to get across to some people and being married to a special education teacher, I get to hear her frustrations in dealing with this issue for her students. Equity vs. Equality: 6 Steps Toward Equity | Edutopia . We consistently preach to differentiate learning for the students and talk about different teaching styles. ...