Assessment of Student Learning and Feedback

Notice in your observation the ways students communicate through speaking and/or writing what
they have learned. Specifically, take notes that strengthen your understanding of student
participation, voice, motivation, and understanding. Use the following grid to help you collect
your thoughts as you observe throughout the lesson.

Class Characteristics: The classroom environment consists of 20 6th grade

Describe what characteristics students. Students have received background coverage
of the students in the class of the material for two weeks where they have gone
need to be considered in over terminology and other academic language that is
planning and teaching to consistent with the assessments topic. In this case the
facilitate learning for all students have read a short story and are expected to
students. (Consider students' make a comparison from the story to their everyday
prior knowledge, language lives. They are given the opportunity to bring in hand
development, social and written notes from home that they can reference back
emotional developments, to for accurate details to make their comparison. This
family, and interests.) is a great tool because it allows students who might
have had trouble remembering details of the text to
have a reference sheet that can be used while
completing their assessment.

Motivation and Students sit at desk clumps of 4 tables. They are

Participation: encouraged to work with their deskmates on do-now
How are students positioned assignments as well as other assignments provided by
to participate in their learning? the teacher. Many times the teacher will give the
What methods does the students critical thinking questions, typically one that
teacher use to encourage their can offer two sides to the same question. The teacher
voice and interaction? will have the desk clumps discussed as a group and
come up with a common response. Then the teacher
will open the floor to a class discussion where all
students are given the opportunity to respond not only
with their group's opinion or stance but also their
own. This promotes individuality and can help
students feel as if they truly have a voice that will be
respected and heard.

Monitoring Understanding: The classroom teacher can be seen circulating the

In what ways is student room throughout the independent work portion of
understanding monitored the lesson. She checks to make sure students are on
throughout the lesson? task and understand the expectations of the task.
 After the teacher delivers her instruction and
explains the directions of the assignment she asks the
students to communicate their understanding by
holding up either a 1, 2, 3, or 4 with their fingers. The
students were clearly familiar with this form of
representing their understanding as they all put up
their number. This was an easy way for the teacher to
read the room and assess what students she would
need to approach first.

Communicate the Learning At the start of the lesson, the teacher asked students
Objectives: to record the content objectives in their notebooks.
In what ways do you observe She Also asked two students to read each of the two
students communicating or learning objectives out loud to the class. The closing
explaining in their own words of the lesson is where students were asked to make
the learning objectives and meaning of these objectives as they were asked to
why they are important to reflect on how they relate to the messages/themes in
them? the text.

Communicate Students in this English class are eager to participate.

Understanding: They are seen sharing their responses with their
In what ways do you observe classmates and responding to the teachers guiding
students communicating what questions. The majority of them were not afraid to
they understand and what they ask for help and participate during the class
need more support in to better discussion. In one of the groups, I could hear the
understand? students sharing with their peers, “I don’t know what
to put for this one?” The teacher was nearby and
encouraged the group members to share their
thoughts to help their table. At another table the
teacher had to rephrase the question, “Have you ever
felt like this character? When and why? What’s the
message in the story? How does it relate to being a
middle school student?”

Student Work: Students are given numerous group activities

What kinds of student work in which they have the opportunity to work together
are students engaged in? Is and discuss their different points of view. The teacher
this collected? will provide handouts in some cases or will write a
critical thinking question on the smart board
pertaining to the specific lesson or literature they are
Does the student work seem to covering at the moment. After observing the class I
be aligned with the learning have seen that the student work directly correlates
objectives of the lesson? with the learning objectives of the lesson. The
What criteria would you use to assignments are specific to the topics discussed in class
determine whether your and are directed towards the main ideas, lessons, or
students met the goals of the messages behind the literature.
lesson?

Teacher Feedback: The teacher provided the students with 2

What kinds of feedback do opportunities to show their understanding, which also
you see the teacher giving provided her with 2 forms of assessment. They were
students to strengthen asked to prepare handwritten notes regarding their
learning? (including positive connection to the text as well as their participation in
and specific praise, correction, the class discussion. Throughout the lesson, she was
redirection, additional constantly giving positive and specific praise such as,
modeling) “I like the way you used the sentence frames to begin
your response.”She provided feedback on the spot
What form does the feedback during the discussion as she asked students to add
take? For example, is the more to their responses or “unpack that idea further.”
feedback part of the whole In terms of the written work, the teacher was able to
class lesson or individualized review these notes post-lesson and grade how prepared
through conferring. they were based on their writing as well as their
speech. She began sticking post-its on their writing
How does the teacher record which included “grow” and “glow” notes. The grow
what she/he sees and hears? feedback included something the student could
improve on next time while the glow feedback
highlighted something the student did really well.

Self-Assessment and Students were prompted to complete an exit ticket at

Reflection: the end of class. The closing question was, Have you
In what ways are students able made any new connections or comparisons with the
to reflect and self-assess their reading based on the class discussion? This was a
own learning? great way to deepen students' analysis and push them
to explain new ideas from their classmates in their
own words. In addition, students were provided with
the opportunity to share their exit tickets and discuss
with their deskmates how they felt the lesson went
and what they took away from it.