When designing a lesson plan the first step is often deciding what to teach. The academic content of a lesson may often times be predetermined by the school system to align with the state mandates. The goals of a lesson may be given as mandatories but the teacher often has more say in the methods of delivery in which the lesson topics will be presented. Teachers also decide the procedures for how those methods will take place. Teachers can use technology to assist in all levels of the lesson, from the planning, to student activity, and eventually to the grading of lessons. Teachers may choose to use presentation software, flow charts, visual aids, classroom websites, podcasts, wikis, creative design software or other assistive technologies as they see fit to enhance the lesson. Technology can also assists teachers in evaluating the student understanding of the lesson material. Learning assessments can be done using electronic test, quizzes, surveys, and rubrics.
There are three main influential
factors in determining how teacher will assess students. The first is based off
their own personal experience. Often time’s teachers implement tools of
assessment they are familiar with from their own past experiences of being a
student. The second influential factor is the standardize test. “Within a
climate of test score accountability, teachers can easily conclude that the only
test that matter are those that rank students according to their numerical
scores on local, state, and national exams” (Maloy, 84). Teacher’s test, or the test teachers must pass
in order to teach can set presidency as what a teacher feels the students must
know. Based off of my own personal
experiences, as a student and a parent of student, I am not the biggest fan of standardized
test, or any multiple choice exams for that matter. I do not test well on high
stake exams because the pressure I associate with testing often distracts me from
the material I would otherwise be able to recite. As a future teacher, I hope
to allow my students the joys of celebrating their understanding of classroom
topics without the fears of failure distracting them from absorbing the
material. In middle school I had a teacher that would give the students an
option of test types. Students could pick to take the multiple choice exams or
to write an essay reflecting the topics. I always choose to write essays, most
of my peers choose the multiple choice option. Either way, the teacher was able to assess
our retention of the knowledge gained from the lesson and we were all equally
prepared for the mandatory state exams.
Performance assessment are
another alternative to the standard multiple choice exam. Instead of a test, I
would like to see my students apply the lesson contents in practice. This may
be easier with certain subjects, such as math, but can be applied to any lesson
if the teacher is creative. For example, if my students are studying poetry, I
would prefer my students create their own poetic expressions and share them
with the class. Perhaps they can be shared through a classroom wiki. If the
class is studying local wildlife, all students can take a digital photo of
local wildlife, write a corresponding report on the animal, insect, or plant
and working in small groups students could create a digital movie or slide show
to present their material.
As a future teacher, my end goal will the same for every lesson plan I create: All students in my classroom will be learning and gaining knowledge.
Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition.
Assessment is a double-edged sword these days. We need to evaluate our students to be sure they have learned the concepts and skills but the pressure and extent to which some value the sole standardized method has created a negative connotation to the term. Even the creative process is tough to assess sometimes but it does value the individual and personal nature of learning (and frankly, of our world's diversity!). I like your ideas! :)
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