Differntiating Assessment

Welcome Back!

So continuing with differentiation, this blog post is going to focus on the process and importance of differentiating assessment rather than just instruction. It is important to remember that the idea of differentiated instruction is rooted in assessment. It is crucial as a teacher to assess in different that are based on the different needs of the students. Clearly, assessment and instruction mutually support each other because the assessment gives us information about students, which shapes our planning and therefore shapes how we will go about instructing students, which will shape the way we assess our students, and I think it is quite clear of the cycle that already exists without much explanation. If you recall, there are 3 types of assessment; assessment as learning, assessment of learning, and assessment for learning. Assessment for learning is one of the important types because it is on going, and continually provides the teacher with information on where the students currently is in terms of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Fortunately, differentiated assessment is closely related to assessment for learning, and it is the first purpose of differing assessment, which allows teachers to constantly view how their students are doing in a non threatening way that doesn't contribute towards their final grade. This whole process of differentiating assessment also benefits the creation of students' IPPs, because you have a better idea of what helps the student to be successful, and thus it becomes much more simpler in creating the goals and objectives. The second purpose of differing assessment is to facilitate meta cognition, which is thinking about one's thinking. This is considered to be the highest form of thinking and as teachers we want students to become aware of their own strengths, and by developing awareness of their own thinking, they are more apt to do just this. There are 5 steps in planning for assessment, and they are as follows. Firstly, you need to determine the purpose, so what do we want the students to achieve? Secondly, you need to establish a focus, which means that you need to make the curriculum more meaningful for the student so that they will be more successful. Next, you need to select and use a strategy that will help you determine how your students are doing. So for example, have your student complete and exit card, or a journal entry so that you can easily assess their learning. Next, you need to record the results, and whether you decide to use them right away or not is your decision, but it is however important to ensure that you are recording the ongoing types of assessment. Finally, you need to interpret the results and take action, so you need to summarize what you learned about the student's learning and then you need to take action, which means that you will create a differentiated learning style for the student to help them be successful. However, as great as differentiated assessment is, it will not benefit you or your student if you do not manage it successfully. There are several points within this points to discuss, but I will write about a few that I feel are extremely important. Firstly, you need to have a knowledge of the curriculum, because if you do not truly understand the material that you are teaching, then it is very difficult to differentiate the curriculum for your students because you yourself don't even know the material that well. You also need to consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the students because it will help you in planning the instruction, since you will know what activities that student will be able to excel at, and what activities are too difficult. Lastly, you want to continuously push your students just a little but above their ability level of what they can do on their own. As teachers, we are here to support our students and push them as they grow, so ensuring that they are successful is our main priority, and this is something I have mentioned several times in my previous blog entries and is something that I truly believe in.

Thank You.