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Early Childhood Specialist

12 years teaching

2020 National Teacher of the Year

personal definition of assessment: accurate picture of where students are both academically and socially/emotionally

go-to assessments:

MyIGDIs: ideas where preschoolers are at compared to any preschool

APES (family based)

how do you work smarter not harder?

concentrate piece-by-piece of her day

expectations for herself, students, and co-workers

changed environment to make student's able to be more independent

pay close attention to each individual student and their characteristics

data can change people's perspectives on children's abilities

"Easy to Love- Difficult to Discipline"

any book that teaches you to address your own biases

"how to build an equitable classroom?"

Stick with teaching because of the joy and fulfillment you get! You get to wake up everyday knowing you are going to make a difference!

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current role

10 years of teaching

math coordinator

personal definition of assessment

assessment is simply a procedure for making inferences

no valid assessment but valid inferences

go to assessments

whiteboards (opportunities to respond during class)

with other teachers--> pause for conversation

how do you work smarter not harder?

understanding what inference he is trying to make to take that to instruction

challenges between understanding at risk assessments and proficiency ones (differences between the purposes based on the students)

can you share a story in how and what you assessed?

He was a student in geometry, he was supposed to learn the distance formula, but he didn't want to. The teacher helped him work it out and understand his feelings about the issue.

give students and teachers opportunities to have flexible thinking

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3rd grade teacher -- 6th year of teaching

personal definition of assessment

getting to know what the kids now and how she is going to use that information

go-to assessments

exit tickets on anything

quick assessments are better

how do you work smarter not harder?

make students do more of it to help themselves and others

less work for you to grade each individual score

having an exit ticket every single day helped her learn more about her students and know where each of them are at and how she can help them

it allowed the student-teacher relationship grow and helped build the trust bridge

building relationships with the students and their families is so important!

sitting "with" them to help them and not at your teacher desk

connecting with each individual student in a way that interests them

laying out procedures and classroom structure at the beginning of the year will help smoothness in the classroom throughout the year

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21 years of teaching

personal definition of assessment?

students are being assessed all of the time to know how well the students are learning and where they are at

her goal is for every student to grow in her classroom

it is not all about the content

using small groups allows the teacher to see what the kids are doing and be present to help them

collaborate and keep the team close to you to get more accomplished

don't walk alone--lean into your co-workers and observe others' classrooms!!!

resources

twitter (seeing what other schools/teachers post)

constantly looking for new things!

"How do you hug a porcupine?"

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SPED

teaching for 14 years

elementary resource

personal definition of assessment

wide range of assessment

observations and standardized tests

uses both anecdotal and data-driven assessment

uses behavior checklists

easier for staff and parents

Don't pre-judge students, but look at their data for academics and focus on their strengths

advice:

Be careful about who you surround yourself with

positive people, NOT negative

resources:

filtering out the stuff

reflect on WHY you are doing it

leadership books

behavior data app on phone for easy access

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23 years of teaching

5th grade

8th/9th grade science

MS Assistant Principal

personal definition of assessment

Can students apply the knowledge?

Can they show me what the standard is asking for?

assessment through application

Top tips for assessments

plan into your lessons

Break down standards and what they mean?

tests were open-ended

if students could test out on Monday, don't make them do it all week

information would continue throughout weeks so that every student could understand and apply their knowledge

work smarter not harder?

go slow at the start, because you are going to receive a lot of information

take a little piece and enhance it, continue that process

layer your teaching years

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Coordinator for special services

15 years (coordinator and school psychologist)

Personal definition of assessment:

Assessment is an estimation of the quality or nature of something

snapshot of a student on a particular day

go-to assessments that guide his work:

MTSS/RTI assessment

screeners, diagnostics, monitoring progress with intervention

exit tickets

cognitive assessments

WISC

look at all students as general students first before their added assistance

Assessment starts where the learning happens (general education)

Work smarter, not harder?

have a process

The whole team all has to be on the same wavelength

framework for assessment and how to use the data

stay consistent

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K-State Alum!! woohoo

3rd grade teacher

Personal definition of assessment:

The biggest thing is observing day to day what students are mastering and still struggling with

not paper tests, but observations

Go-to assessments:

small-group assessment to meet with every student, not just your struggling students

Don't make excuses about not having time for groups

Smarter, not harder?

In every building, be a TEAM

No matter how many members you have

divide and conquer; have individual roles

Compliment your team members' strengths

Use your student leaders in the classroom

you are not just assessing their academics, but what they also need emotionally and mentally

resources:

"The Gift of Dyslexia"

how to do the day-to-day with students who have dyslexia

some of the smartest kids have dyslexia

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Kindergarten teacher for 27 years

4th grade 1 year

some pre-K

personal definition of assessment

assessment is necessary and is a tool to determine what her students know and what is next.

go-to assessments

fast and easy for little kids

"tool box" with cubes

hands-on activity for her to walk around and see each student's response

work with your grade-level team and invest in each other!

advice:

be extra nice to the secretary and the custodian

listen to your team and your co-workers

they want you to succeed!

take a risk

stay off your phone

downfall of the new teacher

your students need to see you while you are with them

don't take yourself too seriously, you will make a fool of yourself sometimes

leave your home problems at the door!! (#1 TIP)

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instructional coaching coordinator

started teaching in 1992

7 years teaching ELA

personal definition of assessment: having a goal or objective in your life that you want to accomplish

Then you can see where you are at and what you need to do to get to your goal

Rubrics keep you more objective and close to the meaningful standards. Rubrics should be created by you so you can determine what the standards and objectives are that you want your students to match.

Students receive rubrics in advance, with the knowledge of what students need to accomplish, how they need to do it, and what skills they will need to have. This was very impactful for students because they could self-assess and know what they needed to work harder and what they may need guidance or improve on.

Resources: Excellence in Every Classroom (teaching period hierarchy)

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1. What did you notice about their ADVICE?

I noticed that a lot of their advice was to surround yourself with positive and encouraging coworkers. This really stood out to me because it has nothing to do with teaching, but who you teach with!

2. What are the strategies that you hear most often?

The strategies that I heard the most often were to plan assessment into your lessons, use exit tickets, and connect with your students to help them.

3. What lessons will you add to your toolbox from listening to these mentors?

Some lessons that I will add to my toolbox are assessment opportunities within the lesson (opportunities to respond), becoming a TEAM with my coworkers, and focusing on student growth, not individual test scores.

4. What surprised you about any of the Mentors?

I think the overall thing that surprised me about the mentors was how many years of schooling they have had. Most of them had more than just their BS in Education, but a master's or certificate. I also noticed how many of them had worked different positions throughout education, not just a general education teacher.

5. What are one or two questions you would like to pose to a Mentor Educator?

Is there a specific way that you record your assessments and document the data?

How do you adjust assessments to benefit all students?