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After completing the Creating Clear Learning Targets for ELA in High School module, I understand that it is important for me to spend quality time thinking about the learning different types of learning targets for my students. This is important for all of my students at all different learning levels and skill levels. This guides me in providing a multitude of opportunities for differentiation for my students. Especially students who need remediation or students who need enrichment in order to maintain a clear focus in their academics. Creating clear learning targets improves my lessons as a general education teacher and can assist me in providing services to my gifted students.

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The module also provided great information on how to make this type of assessment more effective for my students and me.  The module reinforced the importance of good habits and criteria when making a multiple choice, matching, and true/false question.  A few of those habits were “attractive distractors” instead or throw away answer that increased guessing success, not using partial sentences or stems as questions but fully forming the questions to support meaningful answers, and creating multiple questions of varied complexity for each learning target so the test could evaluate a student’s progress level.  Along with using released old AP tests and current NMSI study guides, I will use the information from the module to make better quizzes, tests, practice tests, and follow up questions after labs.

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After viewing the module, there were a number of strategies and practices I can immediately implement to change and enhance my instruction.  For instance, I saw the shortcomings in how I phrase my feedback on student work.  I always try to deliver honest corrections while pointing out the positive aspects of their work/behavior/approach.  I need to work on also specifying how to correct issues without explicitly stepping my students through it.  Another instructional change I plan to make tomorrow is the last component about student ownership of their learning.  Today, an assessment was disappointing so I intended to review it with them as a class.  Instead of doing that, I plan to use the peer feedback approach and add the personal reflection sheet so they can discuss their misconceptions and create goals to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

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Self and Peer-Assessment as Formative Assessment

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Self and Peer-Assessment as Formative Assessment

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Allowing students to self-assess their work or assess the work of their peers allows a teacher to see individual students' understanding. In self or peer-assessing, students must reflect on how they did, the quality of their work, and the content discussed. It is also helpful to allow students to write a sentence describing why they rated their work or the work of a peer a certain way.

I have my students rate their work (or the work of a peer) accordingly: + (for exceeding expectations), @ (for meets expectations), and --- (for does not meet expectations). After reviewing the expectations, directions, or prompt the students rated their work  (or the work of a peer) and wrote 1-3 sentences on why they gave their work that rating.

This encouraged students to strive to exceed the expectations, had them reflect on what they did or did not understand, and take ownership of the quality of their work. It gave me keen insight on what I might need to re-teach or what skills my students need to work on.

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From what I learned in the module, when students take ownership of their work, there are less questions they have for the teacher and the questions they do have provide great learning opportunities. The module begins by saying that one size does not fit all, and in education you have to provide each student with a customized learning experience in order to truly let them succeed academically. By transferring ownership of their learning over to them it makes that customization of education much easier because the student does all of the identifying of issues. You can then use that information to pull them out for small group or individual remediation. Student ownership of learning is a win-win for both students and teachers. If more teachers would incorporate this into their classrooms at earlier ages, then by the time students got to high school, they would be professionals at self-assessing and would be more engaged in learning.

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Review of Formative Assessment Module	One of the components of the module that I agreed with the most was the emphasis on variety of formal and informal formative assessment practices.  So often, individuals view quizzes as formative assessments, but the module demonstrated that there are numerous ways to conduct formative assessment in the classroom.  Observations, questioning, student demonstrations of what they know as well as quizzes, exit tickets, and other forms of assessment are all appropriate when used in a way that allows for both the student and the teacher to reflect on what the student knows and understands at that point in their learning.  Those tasks then allow the teacher to adjust instruction and help students gain a better understanding of the material or skill.  The only point that I slightly disagreed with was the note that all formative products should be independent since group assignments do not show reliable evidence for what each individual knows.  While I agree with this, I also see the value of group assignments and can see how certain strategies even with group assignments can help a teacher know where each individual is in their learning.  

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Review of Formative Assessment Module	One of the components of the module that I agreed with the most was the emphasis on variety of formal and informal formative assessment practices.  So often, individuals view quizzes as formative assessments, but the module demonstrated that there are numerous ways to conduct formative assessment in the classroom.  Observations, questioning, student demonstrations of what they know as well as quizzes, exit tickets, and other forms of assessment are all appropriate when used in a way that allows for both the student and the teacher to reflect on what the student knows and understands at that point in their learning.  Those tasks then allow the teacher to adjust instruction and help students gain a better understanding of the material or skill.  The only point that I slightly disagreed with was the note that all formative products should be independent since group assignments do not show reliable evidence for what each individual knows.  While I agree with this, I also see the value of group assignments and can see how certain strategies even with group assignments can help a teacher know where each individual is in their learning.  

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In the FIP module that I chose, it really taught some of the same guidelines as the REACHING GIFTED STUDENTS module! The lesson expounded on Using Evidence and Feedback to Increase Learning. It was broken down into four main concepts: Creating & Using Clear Learning Targets, Documenting Evidence of Student Learning, Using Evidence & Feedback to Increase Student Learning, & Fostering Student Ownership of Learning!	I really enjoyed both modules as they allowed me to see where I was going wrong within my classroom! It is very important to use clear learning targets. Clear learning targets give a clear understanding of all the concepts that the students are to learn at a particular point and time! The module says using learning targets correctly separates the materials into smaller chunks, allows students to use the associated vocabulary in the lesson, and it gauges understanding of the material. The module also spoke about breaking up quizzes and test by the learning targets. I think that this is an amazing way for kids to follow along with their education. This made me have a paradigm shift as a teacher! Although we were successful in completing extremely rigorous classes using traditional teaching methods, they do not necessarily work for today’s students! When I began teaching, I tried to use traditional methods and was not successful! I assume I used it because it was what I was used to, but it is not student- centered at all! I think that if my teacher would give me a clear learning objective, that would have filled in some of my gaps as a student. Research proves your analysis correct. Although I was a gifted student, some concepts that were taught were not clear!

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In the FIP module that I chose, it really taught some of the same guidelines as the REACHING GIFTED STUDENTS module! The lesson expounded on Using Evidence and Feedback to Increase Learning. It was broken down into four main concepts: Creating & Using Clear Learning Targets, Documenting Evidence of Student Learning, Using Evidence & Feedback to Increase Student Learning, & Fostering Student Ownership of Learning!	I really enjoyed both modules as they allowed me to see where I was going wrong within my classroom! It is very important to use clear learning targets. Clear learning targets give a clear understanding of all the concepts that the students are to learn at a particular point and time! The module says using learning targets correctly separates the materials into smaller chunks, allows students to use the associated vocabulary in the lesson, and it gauges understanding of the material. The module also spoke about breaking up quizzes and test by the learning targets. I think that this is an amazing way for kids to follow along with their education. This made me have a paradigm shift as a teacher! Although we were successful in completing extremely rigorous classes using traditional teaching methods, they do not necessarily work for today’s students! When I began teaching, I tried to use traditional methods and was not successful! I assume I used it because it was what I was used to, but it is not student- centered at all! I think that if my teacher would give me a clear learning objective, that would have filled in some of my gaps as a student. Research proves your analysis correct. Although I was a gifted student, some concepts that were taught were not clear!

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When reflecting on the four types of assessments that I have given thus far, I realize that I have already implemented all four categories with my students. With both whole-class direct instruction, I tend to ask questions to help keep students engaged even though lecture method is probably the least effective for student engagement. With small groups, students often have questions about their lab activities (chemistry class), problem sets, or POGIL activities. Rather than answer their questions directly, I ask them questions designed to help them arrive at the answer. With this method of questioning, I have seen the proverbial light-bulb turn on once the student realizes they either already knew the answer or figured it out through my guided questioning. Both my use of bell-ringers, lab activities, POGILs, and summative tests have all included written responses and selected responses. While I have assigned students to create digital slide presentations using software applications, I have not yet relied on a long-form written response question. Upon this reflection, I will very likely include at least one longer response written question on the upcoming unit summative test

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Looking at feedback and student learning

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Looking at feedback and student learning

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Effective feedback focuses on learning during the process of that learning.  During this first unit, we have conducted a number of activities and case studies.  Students work collaboratively in groups and I move from group to group asking questions, providing feedback and redirecting where necessary.  The feedback is not focused on a grade; it is focused on the learning in progress.  Providing feedback in this manner allows students to know how they need to adjust their own studies and it helps me to see how I need to adjust instruction.  There was one lab we conducted where students struggled with their experimental designs.  I reviewed them, selected an anonymous example and scanned the graph and procedure for us to review.  We discussed strengths and weaknesses of not only the model example but also of other points of the activity and student performance on the activity.  This group discussion was not intimidating because the focus was on growing and improving.  Just as the module encouraged, I try to provide timely, concise and very specific feedback to students.

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Today I had the honor of working with a group of CC teachers as they shared their units for their new Multicultural Literature class. As they shared their plans, they automatically included continued formative assessments throughout. From rubrics for group discussions and presentations to guided reading/close reading activities, the teachers demonstrated that formative assessments would guide their instruction, changes in intervention and enhancements when necessary, and their approach for differentiation. Teachers really are the master at planning instruction in viable ways that promote learning.

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Educators Brent Duckor and Carrie Holmberg invite you on the journey to becoming a formative assessor. They encourage you to focus on these seven research-based, high-leverage formative assessment moves:

Priming—building on background knowledge and creating a formative assessment-rich, equitable classroom culture

Posing—asking questions in relation to learning targets across the curriculum that elicit Habits of Mind

Pausing—waiting after powerful questions and rich tasks to encourage more student responses by supporting them to think aloud and use speaking and listening skills related to academic language

Probing—deepening discussions, asking for elaboration, and making connections using sentence frames and starters

Bouncing—sampling student responses systematically to broaden participation, manage flow of conversation, and gather more "soft data" for instructional use

Tagging—describing and recording student responses without judgment and making public how students with different styles and needs approach learning in real time

Binning—interpreting student responses with a wide range of tools, categorizing misconceptions and "p-prims," and using classroom generated data to make more valid and reliable instructional decisions on next steps in the lesson and unit

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The FIP modules provided by the Georgia Department of Education have wonderful professional learning for teachers on how to use formative assessments to guide learning and to enhance students' learning. They are available free to all Georgia teachers.

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I have found that asking students questions about their work has a positive impact on their understanding of the content. On the written assignments that I collect for a grade, I ask two to three "How" or "Why" questions about the work. When the students receive the graded work, I ask them to respond to the questions. This practice promotes deeper thinking about a specific detail or their analysis of a piece of evidence.  Not only does it help with that particular assignment, but also I believe this deeper thinking process transfers into their future  assignments.

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Communicating through effective and meaningful  feedback on formative assessments is critical for student success. Students need clear and concise verbal and written feedback throughout their work on assignments in order to make corrections or adjustments as needed to meet the lesson target. Attached is a resource from NCDPI that provides a template with examples of descriptive feedback. This might be helpful when planning formative assessment feedback protocols for students.