Time flies when you are engaged and learning a lot! Where did I start....as an Academic Specialist much of my job is focused on data, foundational skills and assessments. My job is to make sure teachers know how to give assessements, make sure data is being looked at, organized professional development around assessments and data. Rarely do I get to talk about student engagement, creativity or what motivates students to learn. In fact, much of my job revolves around what teachers percieve to be "carrots and sticks". Teachers often see data and assessments as a reward and/or punishment...instead of a check point, or a tool to drive instruction.
What has changed?.....I know that my job will always be tied to data and assessments. The district and state needs accountablitity to prove that teachers are teaching and students are learning. I think the big shift for me is that while we still need data, assessments and foundational skills....that should not be the basis for our instruction. Kids do not aspire to have amazing foundational skills. They aspire to be scientist, inventors, artists and creators. It is our job to make learning so engageing that they want to learn those foundational skills because they need them to do the tasks. They want to see their own data and feedback to see how much they have improved. They enjoy taking the assessments becasue it allows them to show off their learning. I think that this transformation will take time. Moving people away from assessments being the focus, to assessments being a by product or a measurement of exciting learning will not be easy. I think we can learn from schools that have already started this transformation. I think that the tools and resources from this class will help me plan meaningful professional development.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2016
Categories |