ASSESSMENT OF THE TEACHING EXPERIENCE
In order to determine the depth and breadth of our students’ acquired
knowledge, we used a variety of assessments in differing forms.
We felt it important to assess our students in a variety of ways as each
of our students is unique and should have the opportunity to present himself as
such. Cooper lists four forms of
assessment as being inquiry, observation, analysis and testing.
We tried to implement each of these in some form or another to get a
diverse view of our students from as many angles as possible.
At the beginning of our field experience, we gave our students an
informal survey to determine their attitudes about mathematics, and to inquire
about their likes and dislikes, in order to incorporate these things into our
teaching. Observation was used to
assess the performance of students on an in-class participation given after the
problem solving activity. Analysis
was used in collecting and grading certain worksheets throughout the unit.
Finally, a summative assessment was given at the completion of the unit
in the form of a teacher-created test to determine the achievement of our
students and the cognitive outcomes of our students.
Throughout the unit, we assessed class participation and group work by
collecting the Spiral Reviews and grading them based on effort and completion,
and making group work a part of their scoring rubric for cooperative learning
and group presentations. We focused
on assessing correct mathematical procedures by collecting and grading certain
worksheets throughout the unit. All
other worksheets were graded for completion after the answers were reviewed in
class. Finally, we administered a
summative assessment of the entire unit to determine their retention and
comprehension of the material we taught.
When the grades were entered and calculated, many students had earned A’s
for our unit. In all, only three
students scored below a B for the entirety of the two week unit.
Although grades are not our primary concern, they are a good reflection
of the acquired knowledge our students gained from their experiences in our
unit.
Assessment is an important part of any type of educational experience,
and learning about inequalities is no exception.
Throughout the unit, our students were vocal about the difficulty level
of the material. Even though the
students had learned about solving multi-step equations in the past, the
transition into solving inequalities is often more problematic than one might
expect. However, even with their
struggles and complaints, the students performed wonderfully on all forms of
assessment we provided. Many
students received over 100 percent on each of the graded worksheets, and we even
had some students score 109 percent on the summative assessment.
Additionally, the students were clear and thorough in their presentations
dealing with the problem solving activity and a majority of them scored in the
highest category in the rubric we created.
Through
these various assessments, I was able to gather knowledge about my students as
learners and also as individuals.
The value of the assessments themselves is shown from these pieces of unique
knowledge I garnered. I have
learned not only about my students as mathematicians through their methods of
solving problems and explanations of mathematical thought, but also about my
students as individuals through their creativity, their interests, and their
tendencies. I have enjoyed getting
to know my students in both arenas and have learned as much or more from them,
as they have learned from me.
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