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My biggest challenge in my teaching practice is all the testing that is required in first grade.  Today was very positive for me because I was observed by a kindergarten teacher and I observed her in guided reading.  We were able to give each other positive feedback and validate each other's teaching.  

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My biggest challenge in my teaching practice is all the testing that is required in first grade.  Today was very positive for me because I was observed by a kindergarten teacher and I observed her in guided reading.  We were able to give each other positive feedback and validate each other's teaching.  

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I thought her use of peer assessments was very effective.  It was obvious that her students have had previous practice using peer assessments.  I think this would be much more challenging at the first grade level.  Especially in my classroom where students are learning to write in another language.  Perhaps I would provide them with sentence frames that they could use to express their opinion verbally.  Also, I think that they might have difficulty accepting criticism of their work at this level. I think we would have to practice this in steps with my classroom.  Another idea might be to use another classrooms work  for the rubric.

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I thought her use of peer assessments was very effective.  It was obvious that her students have had previous practice using peer assessments.  I think this would be much more challenging at the first grade level.  Especially in my classroom where students are learning to write in another language.  Perhaps I would provide them with sentence frames that they could use to express their opinion verbally.  Also, I think that they might have difficulty accepting criticism of their work at this level. I think we would have to practice this in steps with my classroom.  Another idea might be to use another classrooms work  for the rubric.

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I liked the idea that the students were using post it notes during the process of painting, because they can use them as they go and make corrections as needed. I feel like it was effective because students that young are much more straight forward, for example, one student wrote "use less brown." Challenges that teachers might face is students stealing other peoples critiques and then the kids just come up with the same things and the kids won't grow. I would modify this self-assessment by maybe having a check off list that the students could use so they have something specific and more detailed to draw from when doing their evaluations.

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As an English teacher I usually favor writing, but when it comes to the arts I actually prefer the idea of a portfolio. We would do this with our writing from the beginning of 9th grade to the end of 12th grade so that the students could see hoe far they have grown over the years in their writing. I can see this being a very useful tool with art as well.

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The big challenge right now is the lack of buy in my students are having. I am not sure if it is the combination of the weather being so glum and the feeling of the end of the year approaching but I am having a hard time getting my students to focus and engage in our learning. A success with one student in particular, this student has an IEP and she has been working really hard to reach a behavioral goal. I have be collaborating with her case manager on how to help her reach the goal. In the past month my student has made great progress in having positive interactions in the classroom with me and the other students. 

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The big challenge right now is the lack of buy in my students are having. I am not sure if it is the combination of the weather being so glum and the feeling of the end of the year approaching but I am having a hard time getting my students to focus and engage in our learning. A success with one student in particular, this student has an IEP and she has been working really hard to reach a behavioral goal. I have be collaborating with her case manager on how to help her reach the goal. In the past month my student has made great progress in having positive interactions in the classroom with me and the other students. 

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I would probably use a rubric where students can self assess. I also think that an oral assessment where they can present their work be a better way to asses my students as they are in first grade learning a second language. I would ask them to present their work to the class or to a partner.

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I like how she was clear with her expectations. Giving not only giving visual examples but verbal examples as well. I thought it was important that she pointed out that even if a suggestion or critique is made you don't have to make that change. This is important because it allows the artist to hear the comment but remain true to their form and it also allows the critic to be make honest comments or suggestions. Peer assessment requires practice and clear expectations. Setting up an environment where artist and critics alike feel safe making suggestions and changes. If an educator isn't clear about how a peer assessment should be done challenges can arise between the peers. I feel that I could use this across all subject areas. It requires a bit of set up but when done correctly is a positive experience of both peers that helps them both grow.

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I really see how all of these are very helpful when teaching a lesson in any subject area. I already use all four of these assessments in my classroom across all subject areas. I don't always use all four with each lesson but I try to use at least two a lesson. For example at the end of each week my students write essays that speaks to that weeks lessons a is written based on a prompt
(written response.) Before they turn them in they are required to complete a Self/Peer Editing Rubric where they complete a edit and a peer does the same (I have created this ahead of time and it does primarily focus on editing and revising the essay.) I then use a separate rubric based on the type for writing and weekly prompt to grade each essay. Finally the essays are added to each students writing portfolio that they have access to during the year and that will go with them in to the next years class. I am excited to find a way to add these assessments to my lesson.

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I have two challenges.  One, is the fact that we are a charter school, independent study, so, coordinating  classes with the students can be a chore.  The other is, instilling confidence in the individual abilities of the student.  I love what Abbie Ehorn says in the Arts Education Video, "I want every child to feel like they are musical, they're tuneful..."
That is what I want for students concerning Visual Arts, they are creative, they have imagination and I want to create confidence that they can express themselves in Art,  successfully.
My success is that our little school is very supportive of all the arts and we have a variety of expertise among most of our teachers. That makes for an amazing opportunity to have a well rounded arts program at our school.

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Teaching art in the 7th/8th grade class has been challenging for me.  I've never felt very confident in my own drawing and painting abilities, so to "teach"  art to the older students has been difficult. I feel I have been successful in introducing the students to different artistic ideas and concepts, and in turn the students have expressed a greater appreciation of the arts and have said they enjoy my art lessons. However, I don't feel that I have been successful when it comes to actually teaching specific techniques and guiding them in improving their skills in creating quality works of art.  (Kali Wallace)

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From the examples shown, the peer assessments were effective. Donnor's self evaluation indicated that there were some students that had a difficult time with peer reviews. The fact that the students did modify their paintings and improve them from the original, using the visual rubric and peer assessments, showed the effectiveness of the activity.
Some challenges may be: personality conflicts, mood of the student, words/language used when correcting or critiquing  by the students.  I would include examples of open ended phrases that the students need to use with each other when making suggestions, or model appropriate ways to say and make helpful, kind, suggestions.

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I want to use both a co-authored rubric and peer assessment. I want the students to be thoughtful about their process, ideas as well as their end product. When they are involved it knowing the criteria for assessment, I believe they can understand the lesson on a deeper level with less confusion.  It takes the unknown out of it.
I also want to teach them how to give and take constructive criticism and use it to become a better learner and take pride in the process of creating.

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I think Donner's use of peer assessments was effective because it was done before, during, and after the activity. I also think it was effective because the students participated in the actual development and scoring of the visual rubric. Having students write their suggestions and comments also made the peer assessment effective since it  provided another modality for students to solidify their understanding of the techniques listed in the rubric.  One challenge in peer assessments is the time it takes to teach students how to make constructive and specific suggestions. When pairing students up for peer assessment extra consideration might be needed to avoid having students who don't get along or would goof around working together.  In order to use this strategy in my classes with younger students I would pair students up and then have students use verbal feedback/suggestions.

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I think Donner's use of peer assessments was effective because it was done before, during, and after the activity. I also think it was effective because the students participated in the actual development and scoring of the visual rubric. Having students write their suggestions and comments also made the peer assessment effective since it  provided another modality for students to solidify their understanding of the techniques listed in the rubric.  One challenge in peer assessments is the time it takes to teach students how to make constructive and specific suggestions. When pairing students up for peer assessment extra consideration might be needed to avoid having students who don't get along or would goof around working together.  In order to use this strategy in my classes with younger students I would pair students up and then have students use verbal feedback/suggestions.

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(Kali Wallace)

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For my art lessons with younger grades K-4th I would like to use a combination of rubrics (in which students participate in the development) and self/peer assessments. I think having the students participate in the development of the rubric helps them truly understand what is expected and encourages student buy-in. Introducing self and peer assessment techniques at a young age provides students with language and social/emotional skills that can be used as a foundation for a variety of academic and social situations. It also sets the expected behavior and attitude towards continued growth and improvement in all subject matters. For the older grades 5th-8th, I would like to use a combination of written responses, rubrics, and self/peer assessments. I would like to use the rubrics and self/peer assessments with the older students for the same reasons I would like to use them with the younger students. I would like to add written responses for the older students to give them more challenging and personalized methods to demonstrate their learning . (Kali Wallace)

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My Rose: We had a school-wide "Cultural Faire" recently. One of the parents in my class came from the Philippines, so we decided to find out more about her country. We focussed on how the United States ant the Philippines are SIMILAR. This effort helped us all realize that, no matter how many differences you notice between peoples...color, culture, food, music, language...you can also find things in common. We also learned a folk dance called the "Itik, Itik" and performed at the event. Our K/1 class loved it so much, some get in groups during recess and dance together.                                          My Thorn: I would like to see other classes at my site engage in more visual and performing arts. We do not have a band or music program. Our only school-wide access to music is once a week in the after-school program...which doesn't reach everyone. I believe becoming a part of NSAEC will help me convince them to make some changes in this area.                                           

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My Rose: We had a school-wide "Cultural Faire" recently. One of the parents in my class came from the Philippines, so we decided to find out more about her country. We focussed on how the United States ant the Philippines are SIMILAR. This effort helped us all realize that, no matter how many differences you notice between peoples...color, culture, food, music, language...you can also find things in common. We also learned a folk dance called the "Itik, Itik" and performed at the event. Our K/1 class loved it so much, some get in groups during recess and dance together.                                          My Thorn: I would like to see other classes at my site engage in more visual and performing arts. We do not have a band or music program. Our only school-wide access to music is once a week in the after-school program...which doesn't reach everyone. I believe becoming a part of NSAEC will help me convince them to make some changes in this area.                                           

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Thorn: Our unit on rigid transformations on a coordinate plane (translations, reflections, and rotations) had to be shortened due to the time we took off for the Camp Fire.
Rose: I decided to introduce tessellations as a way for students to have a little more hands on experience with rigid transformations. We made our own puzzle pieces, discussed why the puzzle piece would create the type of tessellation we were creating, and created three types of tessellations. It was nice to see students see the connection between math and art.

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I think it would take some training for my classes to be able to peer assess as well as the students did. Teachers might face the challenge of students being too hard on each other--I'd anticipate having students criticize each other in an unconstructive manner. I might do a mini lesson first on how to offer positive feedback, then on how to offer constructive, useful criticism. In my class I might have students help me create a rubric to use for peer assessments--this way they can have some ownership of how they're being graded! I like the use of post its, but with over 100 middle school students worry this wouldn't be cost effective, even though I'd really like to do it this way! I really like how using the post its helped with accountability.

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I like the idea of using rubrics in class, especially ones that students help me create. I think it's important to include three types of rubrics: 1. Self assessment 2. Peer assessment 3. Teacher assessment. I'm still not certain what order I'd do them, though. It might make sense to do a peer evaluation first so students had some information on how to improve, then make revisions before a final product. It also may make more sense to start with a self assessment, then make revisions before doing a peer assessment. Either way, I think it's important to allow students to use the rubric to make revisions for improvement before issuing a final grade.