Final Project Blog Link Posting
Ed 6380 Digital Assessments of Learning
Dr. Wallace
Edith Trevino
Introduction
Technology has brought a new meaning to the education system. In this paper I will discuss how assessments have played a vital role in schools, teachers, or in students’ lives, and how it can help student reach their achievements. It is essential that teachers and students know how to use technology. With the increasing usage and incorporation of technology into a classroom, it is vital to know all the new assessment tools to ease your teaching methods. Assessments, digital assessments, data-driven-computer-based assessments, and the use of canvas will be the points in this paper.
Assessment in education system has come a long way from what it once was. One of the teacher's responsibilities in the classrooms is to monitor students' processes, make instructional decisions, evaluating student achievement and evaluating programs (Powell &Powell, 2012). Teachers need to conduct classroom assessments that help them understand and be aware of students learning process. Therefore, teachers need to do weekly assessments. When assessments are done correctly, and the data is interpreted well, it can help teachers have a clear view of their students learning progress and help meet students' academic needs. Not only that, but assessment will also help teachers create better lesson plans. This will create a balance in the classroom because teachers will be able to re-evaluate their teaching skills and evaluate students' learning; it will give teachers a chance to figure out what strategies need to be conducted for students to reach their academic goals.
A wide variety of assessment methods are available to you. You have forced choice, essay, short written responses, oral reports, teacher observation, self-assessment, and performance tasks. (Powell & Powell, 2012). This type of assessment can help with diagnostic, formative and summative evaluations. But there are also standardized testing and authentic assessment, these two elements will always be part in the education system. Standardized assessments play an important role for schools, teachers and in student lives; they collect data for the teacher and measure the students’ knowledge in a specific content area. (Koch,2012). Standardized testing happens every year and provides useful information for the education system and for families such as measuring a student’s learning and school performance. According to (Koch 2012) there also authentic assessments, which is called performance assessments. Performance assessment can usually be done after a lesson and be in the form of a presentation, portfolio, multiple choice quiz, or group work. However, there are also different ways to do assessments, for example there are embedded assessments. This assessment is more of a natural feeling. It does not feel like you are being tested. In addition, Embedded assessment is a fun way to demonstrate what has been learned. Embedded assessments are activities that are done as part of the class, and learners get immediate feedback. Embedded assessment can be done in a form of journal, research report, debate, or essay (Koch, 2012). Feedback is another way that students can correct their learning (Koch,2012). This leads me to believe that it is essential to find a different way to assess and explore another way to provide suitable teaching methods to improve instruction. So, what happens when you add technology into assessment, what changes are made?
Digital assessment is a form of communicating with students to receive instant feedback about their learning, which further guides and helps students understand their knowledge. According to Ploth she believes with digital assessment you can create different assessment and get instant feedback within minutes. Digital assessment can be download as spreadsheets; you can receive emails with results and correct learning right at that moment. A few examples of forms of formative assessment are GoFormative, Kahoot, Quizizz, Riddle, and Survey Monkey can provide teachers with immediate results, providing teachers with an opportunity to view results and analyze data and help meet students' needs (Ploth, 2021). Whenever a teacher uses a digital assessment tool, they can get an overview of student processes and see where they are struggling or growing. Using digital assessment is ideal for teachers in this 21st century because it allows them to collect data within minutes of any digital review or assignment that students have finished. Based on the data teacher will determine which direction she can take to and start building the framework to implement learning.
When educators are creating lesson plans or are done with a lesson. Usually, an assessment is done. Data -driven is a framework that will guide your teaching strategy. Author Paul Bambrick Santoyo believes that standards are meaningless until you define how to assess them. Being transparent with stakeholders will help them know what is expected to learn. The article entitled, “Chapter 1 Driven by Data”, states, assessment is one of the first core principle of data-driven instruction. It is better is to conduct an assessment at the beginning so that the teacher can know where students stand. The Data -driven instruction goal is to ensure that students are learning. If done properly, data-driven measures can create a data culture that helps achieve incredible results. (Bambrick Santoyo, 2010) to succeed in data-driven, there are four main points: assessment, analysis, action, and culture.
Assessment is the starting point to finding a solution to a problem a stakeholder may be having. It is important to conduct an assessment before starting anything and should be done constantly. Analysis is when the raw data result are review and decides what are the steps that needs to take place. Analysis is like figuring out a puzzle, it provides immense amount of raw data and when done right, it allows to see many important levels of the data. For Instance, it helps the educator identifies the problem, provides opportunity to brainstorm ideas on how to help the students, identify strengths or weakness, and take steps to achieve students’ goals.
Action is when you put your data to work. This is where educators plan to apply the insights of the raw data that they have gained to meet students learning needs. During the action plan teacher can re-write the objective to be more understandable for teachers and students. The action plan will create new approaches that will help teachers implement new strategies to improve on teaching methods and better learning for students. With the new action plan it is important to continue to do ongoing assessment to check students understanding and making sure the goals are being met. It can also help educator correct the misconception the student might have with the lesson right at that moment.
Developing a culture in school is important as analysis and action. According to author Bambrick - Santoyo he believes, that without a concrete driver to guarantee data- driven culture, working to build one is fruitless. Establishing the right leadership team will create a culture of data- driven decision-making. It is important to introduce data-driven professional development as one of the priorities. Teacher will be able to see what data driven is capable of, and it value for improving education. Participation of the principle and leader faculty will help you keep the data- driven plan on track. Also, when data driven take place is vital to make time for data, interim assessment, making professional development and allowing time for reteaching. By taking the time and following the step of data driven will help teachers and improve learning as well. By adding all the strategies element that data-driven has will help view and create interim assessments which include the use of road maps and showing strengths, weaknesses, improvements, accountability, and visibility Bambrick Santoyo (2010). Analysis, Action, and Culture are the foundation for the rubric that exists today (Bambrick-Santoyo,2010). These elements will provide information that the teacher and the students need to achieve excellent performance from the students.
Another thing that connects to assessments and digital assessments in the education system is the important use of computer-based grading assessment. This application is used in school due to the widespread use of technology. Computer-based assessment may be very appealing to educators due to its ability to ease their grading jobs, receive real-time student data, and provide immediate feedback. Computer-based assessment is a great way to see if students are learning. Teachers can decide the next step they need to take to fill that learning gap students are experiencing. According to (O’Donnell,2018) A former teacher from Cleveland, Ohio, is concerned that computers may not grade correctly. However, another teacher who is the head of the Federation of Teachers believes that computers can help with grammar and punctuation. There will always be concerns about anything new, like anything else. Yes, computers can make mistakes, but there is always someone there to collect the data. Then, once results are in and teachers see low grades, they double-check to determine what occurred. Was it the students, or was it the computer error? According to (Aken ,2017) he believes that humans must interact with them to analyze the text that is being analyzed. In agreement with Aken, I believe in this statement because computers are essential in this world and no matter how everyone looks at technology, technology will always need humans. A perfect example of this is the use of Canvas. Canvas is an application teacher can use to create outcomes, assignments, quizzes, or tests. Canvas can grade students' work, give feedback instantly, and get notifications when a student submits assignments or tests if the teacher provides that in the system preference. Learning and teaching online are made possible by Canvas's course management system. Canvas is an application that is easy use. I had an opportunity to work on canvas, and I created outcomes, quizzes and analyzed the data on the examination. A few things that I like about Canvas is that I can get notifications when a student completes the assessment quiz. I can view results and able to provide feedback to the students. With the data I collect with Canvas, I could view if students met their goals with the outcomes I created. Canvas makes it easy for educators to connect results to the standards-based grading and decide based on the data collected. It is essential to collect as much data as possible as this will determine which areas need to be improved as a teacher and what areas to help improve students learning. But it is also essential for the teacher to receive the correct training to know how to use Canvas. Educators need to get adequate training to create, collect, and read data in Canvas. This will help the teacher's work be more effective.
Overall, assessment, digital, data-driven, computer-based, and management are critical in the education system. Without conducting an evaluation, we will not know if students are learning. In addition, it is vital to understand if students are thinking about their metacognition. All these assessments can help transform and improve teaching practices. Technology has been evolving for quite some time and has a vital role in our daily lives. It has helped in gathering information, solving problems, and communicating. Technology has brought a new lifestyle to the education system and many digital application advantages for the teacher to implement learning in classroom settings.
References
Assessment.mov. (2010, April 7). YouTube. https://youtu.be/aAiCoc4BhJ8
Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2010). Driven by data: a practical guide to improve instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
O’Donnell, P. (2018) Computers are now grading essays on Ohio's State Tests. Retrieved from Cleveland .com
Koch, J. (2012). Koch, J., (2012). Teach: introduction to teaching. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Ploth, R. (2021, November 4). How I got started using technology to assess student learning. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/technology/using-technology-to-assess/
Powell, S. D., & Powell, S. D. (2012). Your introduction to education: explorations in teaching. Boston: Pearson.
Shutterstock picture https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/assessment-evaluation-consideration-analysis-planning-600w-300898583.jpg
Shutterstock picture https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-survey-results-analysis-discovery-600w-1032037447.jpg
Link to my oral presentation https://youtu.be/DciO_ZPr9s4
Project Prep #1, Phase #1
Ed 6380
Edith Trevino
5th Grade Social Studies
5.8. Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment. The student is expected to:
5.8(A) Describe how and why people have adapted to and modified their environment in the United States such as the use of human resources to meet basic needs
(22) Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of science and technology on society in the United States. The student is expected to:
5.22 (B) Identify how scientific discoveries, technological innovations, and the rapid growth of technology industries have advanced the economic development of the United States, including the transcontinental railroad and the space program
(25) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:
5.25 (A) Use social studies terminology correctly
5.25 (B) incorporate main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication
(4) History. The student understands political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the 19th century. The student is expected to:
5.4 (B) identify and explain how changes resulting from the Industrial Revolution led to conflict among sections of the United States.
(4) History. The student understands political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the 19th century. The student is expected to:
5.4(F) Identify the challenges, opportunities, and contributions of people from various American Indian and immigrant groups such as the settlement of the frontier and building of the Transcontinental Railroad
5th grade social studies quiz. I broke it down by TEK and then the questions for the that TEK I also described what type of question it is and provided the answer.
Blue is the outcomes/standards
Hight light is the type of question
White is the question
Red is answer
5.8. Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment. The student is expected to:
5.8(A) Describe how and why people have adapted to and modified their environment in the United States such as the use of human resources to meet basic needs
Question 1-2 (fill-in-the-blank)
1. Migration westward modified the environment with the building of ____ and ____.
Answer: railroads and wagon trails
2. Settlers in the American West built sod homes and cleared the land to ______.
Answer: farm
(22) Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of science and technology on society in the United States. The student is expected to:
5.22 (B) Identify how scientific discoveries, technological innovations, and the rapid growth of technology industries have advanced the economic development of the United States, including the transcontinental railroad and the space program
Questions 3-4 (multiple-choice)
3. The Transcontinental Railroad linked –
A. American Indian Tribes together
B. Workers and their jobs.
C. Cars to railroads
D. The West Coast and East Coast
Answer: D
4. The Transcontinental Railroad helped the economy to grow because -
A. Goods were moved to markets more quickly
B. Workers migrated from the West to the East
C. New resources were found
D. Animal herds were located
Answer: A
(25) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:
5.25 (A) Use social studies terminology correctly
5.25 (B) incorporate main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication
Questions 5 (essay)
Explain in detail what Sectionalism means. Provide an example using 3-4 sentences.
Sectionalism relates to the interest dedicated to a region versus the whole country. An example of this focus was before and during the Civil War. The North and the south each wanted to focus on the needs of their own region rather than as a whole.
Question 6 (essay)
Explain the benefits provided by the Transcontinental Railroad. Write 3-4 sentences.
The transcontinental railroad provided many benefits. One benefit was that it allowed crops and other materials to be transported from coast to coast. Through this effort, international trade was also aided.
Questions 7-8 (true/false)
(4) History. The student understands political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the 19th century. The student is expected to:
5.4 (B) identify and explain how changes resulting from the Industrial Revolution led to conflict among sections of the United States.
7. True or False: American Indians were removed from their lands with the Indian Removal Act and forced to settle in Indian Territory.
Answer: T
8. True or False: During the 1800s many immigrants came to the United States to serve in the government.
Answer: F
Questions 9 -10 (select all that apply)
(4) History. The student understands political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the 19th century. The student is expected to:
5.4(F) Identify the challenges, opportunities, and contributions of people from various American Indian and immigrant groups such as the settlement of the frontier and building of the Transcontinental Railroad
9. American Indians have contributed to the American culture with a rich heritage of -
A. Art
B. Culture
C. Languages
D. Television Shows
Answer: A, B, C
Question 10 (fill-in-the-blank)
10. One challenge faced by many immigrants due to small spaces and large families was______________.
Answer: living in crowded houses
References
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Grade 5: §113.16. Social Studies, Grade 5, Adopted 2018.
