HLP 15: Checking Student Understanding During and at the Conclusion of the Lesson

Introduction

The paper will cover High-Leverage Practice 15 which is "Checking Student during and at the Conclusion of the Lesson." This refers to a formative assessment technique also known as Assessment for learning that helps teachers' evaluate student comprehension relative to a learning objective, with the purpose of providing a modification to satisfy students' needs for knowledge.

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I have chosen to delve into this professional practice, because it links to a personal experience back in my school days, of how my performance was elevated through my Science teacher, being concerned about my understanding of the lesson. I recall how she boosted my enthusiasm and passion for science through engaging us (her students) throughout the lesson by asking questions and encouraging in-class discussions.

The entire paper will be based on my first-hand experiences and observations that I garnered through my teacher training. Additionally, the literature presented is what I have read and comprehended throughout the preparation of the assignment. Focusing on this HLP, I expect to have assimilated essential strategies sufficient to make me an exceptional teacher, who draws a commendable performance from students, through practical classroom interactions such as questioning, peer, and self-assessments, feedback and group discussions.

Assessment

Walvoord (2010, p.23) stated that assessment is a well-organized structure integrated to determine the knowledge of students and determine the best resources to be utilized to impact their learning.

It is critical for both teachers and learners.

For teachers, it assists them in measuring the effectiveness of their teaching skills, by reflecting, evaluating and revisiting their instruction. Moreover, it provides them with the tool to determine knowledge gaps of students, and thus accommodate different strategies across various learners' abilities to target these gaps. For learners, assessment gives them direction to see how they are doing in class. Moreover, it motivates the students when they recognize their capability, and sometimes it demands extra effort to achieve their potential to ensure they are successful in the course (Black and William, 2001, p.1).

Assessment tools

Teachers are expected to utilize various tools depending on what they need to assess. Regardless of the methods employed, the evaluation should establish the students' comprehension of what they know and need to learn.

During my training at Dhafra, I acknowledged the opportunity to implnement several strategies during and after the lesson, which provided me with a comprehensive picture of who is struggling and what teaching adjustments need to be done. At the beginning of every reading, I encouraged the students to engage with me directly through asking open and closed-ended questions, to determine what they already know about the specific content. Ex: what is..? How would you describe? Can you recall?

Cotton (2001) states posing questions is considered more effective in being productive and delivering achievements than disregarding questions; this creates a bridge between the students and teachers since it determines the previous knowledge on the content. After establishing a baseline to work from, I set out for them a clear and concise learning objective about the desired outcomes for each lesson. This directs them to answer: Where am I trying to go? According to Paul and Elder, thinking is driven by questions.

Reed (2012) notes that for learning to be effective, teachers and students should be aware of the flow of the lesson and how various activities can be integrated to achieve the required outcome. Furthermore, instructional techniques explicitly connect classroom activities to learning objectives assisting students to comprehend the purpose of the lesson and get inspired to be involved with the ideas. As I progress through the lesson, the level of questioning deepens to more critical and higher order thinking skills, prompting them to analyze, justify, apply, extend and utilize what they know in new ways; Ex: how would you use..? What evidence can you find..? Predict the outcome if..? Construct a model that..? This process helps me gauge the student's level of comprehension concerning their learning objective, and guides them to answer: Where am I now?

However few limitations emerge with the use of questioning. Open-ended questions tend to be time-consuming, and few repetitive students participate in responding. Therefore, as a teacher, I get to learn about the understanding of the selected few. Furthermore, limited time allocated for pupils to answer affects the quality of their answers.

In my training, I have tried to combat that by utilizing the Think, pair share technique (which I practiced heavily in XXX Institute). Dividing students into pairs, to engage in thoughtful reflections and share it with each other. Or cold calling, where everyone is expected to be called upon. It is the teacher's way of saying indirectly "I expect you to participate, but am doing so because I care to hear what you are thinking." Or encouraging the use of mini whiteboards, by asking all students to display their answers on the board, the teacher gathers immediate feedback about student comprehension that grants her the chance to deliver immediate action. I witnessed how all three strategies generated greater participation from pupils and increased student-student interactions.

Furthermore, peer assessment is another potent formative tool. Students individually evaluate each other's work based on teacher's criteria. Peer assessment enabled me to define the requirements which often motivates me to implement it in my future practices. This method empowers students to be accountable for their learning (Cox, Imrie, and Miller, 2014), enhances their judgment skills, and increases students' interpersonal relationships in the classroom (Sluijsmans, Brand-Gruwel, and van Merrienboer, 2002). In my class, I observed their enthusiasm crop up from the sense of responsibility for assessing their peer projects and providing feedback and promoting quality.

Additionally, it is imperative to engage students in Self-assessments and encourage them to take ownership of their learning, because it provides them with their understanding, reflection, and what is required to achieve in the next level (Chin and Osborne, 2008, p.3).

In our classroom, we use the Lesson Specific target sheet, whereby the students rate their understanding/confidence level using a seven-point scale. This helps them to know where they are in their learning and to plan for more in-depth focus. The immediate feedback pupils receive from these formative assessments gives them direction, conducting them to answer the question: How do I get there?

According to my evaluation of formative assessments is that most students might disregard their importance due to their informal status and non-grading nature. The students might deliver misleading information to their teachers. Thus, summative and cumulative assessments are essential because they grade and sum-up students' learning at the end of the course. For instance, mid-term exams, essays, projects, etc. They are thoroughly graded, and while short-written feedback accompanies them, I realized students tend to focus on the marks. Most students degrade the feedback value especially when the lesson is over.

Personal Reflection and Conclusion

The training experience in my current school provided me with the opportunity to practice different types of assessments and analyze their effects. The use of questioning, peer and self-assessments, and other evaluations during and after the lesson assisted me to determine areas where students encountered challenges and misconceptions.

Promoting student interactions have prompted them to engage in their learning actively, and boost their confidence. Thus, I appreciated the fact that students' success stems up when they are actively involved in their education. Students should be encouraged to analyze the feedback from assessment, engage in the process of creating their goals, and to develop a plan of action to meet their goals.

A perceptive teacher acknowledges that none of this can be attained without securing a safe and supportive learning space for her students, where mistakes are perceived as opportunities for learning and growth. When pupils are provided with a sense of belonging, they feel assured the teachers care about their well-being and strive towards becoming achievers instead of being disruptive. The experience relates to how I felt with my middle school science teacher who instilled in me the passion for learning science, which has made me who I am today; a science teacher!

References

Black P. and D. Wiliam (1998), "Assessment and Classroom Learning", Assessment in Education:

Principles, Policy and Practice, CARFAX, Oxfordshire, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 7-74.

Chin, C. and Osborne, J. (2008). Students' questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science. Studies in Science Education, 44(1), pp.1-39.

Cox, K., Imrie, B.W. and Miller, A. (2014). Student assessment in higher education: a handbook for assessing performance. Routledge.

Reed, D. "Clearly Communicating the Learning Objective Matters!" Middle School Journal, 43:5, May 2012. p. 17,

Sluijsmans, D., Brand-Gruwel, S., & van Merrienboer, J. J. G. (2002). Peer assessment training in teacher education: effects on performance and perceptions. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 27, 443-454.

Walvoord, B.E. (2010). Assessment clear and simple: A practical guide for institutions, departments, and general education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Note: In my next case study, both peer and self-assessments will be discussed thoroughly because they are intrinsically interwoven together; hence, my choice for these two HLP's.