Groupwork and Assessments

As the semester closes, it seems like we have less and less to talk about yet surprisingly we find more. We read a couple chapters in Tovani's book, "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" about group work and assessment.

I'm a pretty social person so I've always loved group work. It was fun working with friends and discussing problems. The worst part about it was getting stuck with people who won't get anything done. I feel like as a teacher there can be problems with group work too. Tovani mentions a few strategies for some problems we can run into with group work. The first issue she posed was, "Someone hasn't read the material or completed the task." Tovani suggests to have a little quiet station where students can finish the task before getting back with the group. The next problem we can we can have is that "Someone talks all the type." She suggests that we give this person a task to do, maybe write down the points from the group or give feedback. Of course there could be many problems that could happen with a group but the last one Tovani discusses is when "someone doesn't talk." This can be frustrating for many people but she suggest a couple phrases to include the kids that don't necessarily get a chance to talk or don't prefer to talk. She suggests to directly approach the student and ask if they have something to share. I definitely think these are great ideas for facing group work. Though group work doesn't always run smoothly, these tips can help it run a little better.

The two things I took away from the assessment chapter was how to go about assessments and conversation calendars. Tovani says, "Decide what you want to assess. Give a variety of ways for students to demonstrate understanding." Then, "design assessments that are checkpoints for understanding." This keeps the idea kind of simple but it can be complicated. I can see what my objectives are and then decide what is important. Based on that, I can plan activities that will help my students understand the objectives in a variety of ways, since all students learn differently and at a different pace. Then I would base my assessments on what I wanted them to understand. I feel that if I planned each unit like this, assessments would be effective and test their understanding. 

The other part I liked was Conversation Calendars. I thought it was a really cool tool that helped build rapport with the students. There was a mini calendar. The students could write a question or response each day or tell me something they wanted. They would then grade themselves on behavior and participation that day. Then under their question, I would respond and give them a grade that I thought. I thought this was a cool way to communicate with students and learn about things that are going on in their lives. That way, I could base lessons on their lives and discuss other confusions.

Can't believe the end of the semester is approaching. Let's make it a great couple of weeks. :)

~The Teach Fairy