Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Together

Reflective Assessments for Elementary Classrooms

Arthur K. Ellis

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317924463
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book goes back to the basic purpose of assessment to show teachers what your students know and are able to do. The 22 activities in this book will help your students become active, engaged, responsible, and caring learners. This "how to" book is filled with activities which will enable you to keep your students active and engaged, facilitate cooperative group projects without losing control, raise academic achievement, apply multiple intelligences in your classroom, and teach your students how to think.

Strategy 1
I Learned

The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach.

— Sophocles

Purpose

The I Learned^* statement for assessing learning is a quick and efficient way to get a sense of your students’ grasp of a lesson or activity. It is beautifully simple, and it achieves two assessment goals at once: (1) each student gives you feedback on what he or she thought was of significance, and (2) the aggregate of the responses informs you to what extent you achieved your teaching goal. Remember, the purpose of school is not teaching; it is learning. Teaching is something one does to create opportunities for learning.

Procedure

Here is how the process works. At the conclusion of a class period, with five minutes or so left, ask each student to write down on a sheet of paper, “I learned such and such…” in today’s activity or lesson. For example, if you have just taught students to divide fractions, an I Learned statement by one student might read, “I learned that to divide fractions, you invert the divisor and multiply.” Although such a reflective comment does not answer the “why” or concept of inverting the divisor and multiplying, it does at least get at the skill level or the “how.” The student shows that he/she knows how to divide fractions. Few or no reflective statements indicating why (the concept) we invert the divisor helps you assess the lesson, which is an added purpose of reflective assessment. Perhaps you did not explain why; tomorrow you can do just that. Skip ahead in the text to Strategy 13, Clear and Unclear Windows, if you wish to gain an early insight into a way you can get at students’ deeper understandings.

If you have been studying the water cycle with students, an I Learned statement might read, “I learned that water goes through four cycles: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.” In a unit where students are engaged in cooperative leaning, an I Learned statement might read, “I learned that working together means we have to find out what others think.” Such simple statements are a reasonable place to begin. As students practice writing statements, particularly in the case of older students, their reflections will begin to take on greater depth, but all this comes with time.

These examples come from students who show some basic understanding of significant skills and/or ideas. Of course, not everyone will grasp the main idea, but the point is that even if this is so, it is better to know that than to not know. It doesn’t pay to assume that everyone learned something just because you or I taught it. And when some students do show a grasp of what was taught and others do not, this becomes a perfect moment for peer teaching.

The first time you try I Learned statements with your class, don’t be surprised if half the papers turned in are blank. This is nothing to be alarmed about. Students usually are not asked what they just learned, so they don’t tend to think in those terms. In other words, students are not typically asked to reflect. Also, don’t be surprised if many of the papers contain irrelevant or inaccurate I Learned statements. Moreover, be sure to share insightful I Learned statements by students with the entire class. All some students need are examples in order for them to grasp the general idea.

I remember having my students write I Learned statements following a presentation by a uniformed naval officer who had spoken to the class. One student’s response stays in my mind to this day. She wrote, “I learned that they have gold buttons on their coat.” It could be argued that this was hardly the main idea of the presentation, which was on the topic of careers, but that is what she said she learned.

One of the joys of I Learned assessment comes from statements by students who not only grasp the intent of the lesson but who see in it really good things that you yourself hadn’t even considered. This is value-added teaching and learning! In other words, they made connections to some prior knowledge or experience. When students write statements that are insightful and even profound, be sure to read those statements aloud to the class. This will help others to understand the process better.

Sometimes what people need most are good examples to get them started. One of the things you will notice if you use this technique over time is that students get better and better at reflection. Of course, keep in mind that learning is a complex process and that students may learn things that you believe were neither intended nor to the point. Who knows what prior knowledge a given individual might bring to an activity and how it might affect their learning? It serves as a good reminder that even though we might think we are teaching exactly the same thing to all thirty students, that is simply not the case. Each individual must construct his or her own knowledge. Invariably, people will come up with somewhat different constructions. You need be concerned only if you are convinced that students are not getting the point at all.

It does matter greatly what is taught when it comes to assessing I Learned statements by students. For example, if you are teaching certain skills that you think are crucial, then you do want to be sure that students are grasping those skills. This is known as convergent knowledge; this is especially important in elementary mathematical procedures and in any subject where skills are emphasized. However, if you are teaching complex ideas, then it is quite understandable that students might have varied perspectives on those ideas. You have entered the realm of divergent knowledge. If you are teaching two-place addition, of course, you will hope to receive I Learned statements that are related to the skill. Even in such a case, however, the insights which students generate in learning this can vary considerably. And if you are teaching something as complex as social skills to your class, expect a wide range of insights and personal applications from students.

Outcomes

One use of the I Learned statement is diagnostic. If you receive a large number of statements that you believe are inaccurate or misleading, you will probably want to try teaching the same material again, perhaps in a different way. If you receive a mix of statements, you may want to form peer-teaching groups in which those who clearly grasp the content or skill are asked to share their knowledge with students who are having trouble with the material.

The aggregate of the I Learned responses from a class of students is one of the best indicators of your success in achieving your objective in a lesson. Taken together, a classroom set of statements forms a kind of mosaic reflecting the quality of the experience. You can control what you teach, but you cannot control what is learned. Sometimes they are basically the same thing, and on other days, well, they are worlds apart.

How often should a teacher use I Learned statements? The answer is often, but probably not every day. The thing to keep in mind is that you are attempting to raise the level of consciousness of your students. You are asking them to become conscious of what they are learning. In other words, you are asking them to be reflective, to practice metacognition, to think about their learning. Like any technique, the I Learned statement can be overused. It is best to use it intermittently, perhaps three or four times a week; this way students will have it in the back of their minds that you just might use it on any particular occasion, thus helping them to be alert to this possibility and to think about what they are learning just in case they are asked. In time it becomes automatic for them to think that way, in which case you will have achieved a very important educational goal.

Differentiating I Learned

Try having your students write or draw an I Learned statement cooperatively. This also involves your students in two or three other strategies mentioned later in the book: Think Aloud (Strategy 2), Write It Down (Strategy 11), and Learning Illustrated (Strategy 12). This can be done in groups of two if you wish to maximize student discussion while giving students experience in working together.

Many classrooms are equipped with document cameras and projectors. Use these to show your class exemplary I Learned statements. Writing an I Learned statement on the board accomplishes the same thing if you do not have such equipment. The effect can be most useful. By showing the class good examples, you provide an experience in what is called the Zone of Proximal Development. This enables learners to improve their I Learned statements by focusing on key ideas, important skills, and essential knowledge.

You may wish to write an I Learned statement either about the lesson itself or something you learned about the class as a result of the activity. This is an excellent way to model lifelong learning to children. It never occurs to some students that adults keep on learning throughout their lives.

Teaching is demanding and time is always precious. Nevertheless, feedback to students is crucial. They need to know that you read their I Learned statements, and you need to write something on them and hand them back. Usually just a quick comment, like the following, will suffice: “good idea,” “right on,” “say more,” “not sure what you mean,” “may I share your comment with the class?”

Finally, consider combining Post It Up (Strategy 4) with I Learned. Have students post their statements on a bulletin board or section of the dry board. Give students opportunities during free time to read the posted comments. Leave them up and start tomorrow’s lesson with them.

From the Classroom

Wendy Harrison’s second grade class has just finished a two-week unit in which the students studied nursery rhymes. The study was interdisciplinary in that it included history, geography, culture, customs, poetry, grammar, art, and music. At several points along the way, Wendy would ask her students to take five minutes at the end of a lesson or activity and write an I Learned statement. Here are some examples of the children’s reflections.

I learned that I could teach nursery rhymes to my little brother.

He loves them. Chandra

I learned that nursery rhymes are poetry. I didn’t know that because I didn’t know what poetry is. Harry G.

I learned that nursery rhymes are fun and I also learned how to

spell rhyme. Anya

I learned that Jack and Jill better be more careful because they

could get hurt bad. Suki

I learned it is fun to memorize nursery rhymes. My mother is

amazed I know them so well. She likes to have me say them. Liss

I learned that nursery rhymes came from history and children

learned them who couldn’t even read and write. Paul

I learned my favorite nursery rhyme is Jack Be Nimble Jack Be

Quick but Michael’s favorite is Peter Piper. Alfons

What Is Teaching?

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.

— Ecclesiastes 3:1

Jean Piaget (1965) defined teaching as the creation of an environment in which students can grow intellectually, socially, and morally. However you define it, a central premise must be acknowledged: teaching is a means. Learning, which we will get to in due course, is an end.

Two useful images give us a place to begin. One image is that of the scholar sharing knowledge, skills, and values with students. The premise is simple: one person knows things that others need to know, and ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• Meet the Author
• Contents
• Preface
• Guiding Icons Defined
• Strategy 1 I Learned
• Strategy 2 Think Aloud
• Strategy 3 The Week in Review
• Strategy 4 Post It Up
• Strategy 5 Jigsaw
• Strategy 6 Key Idea Identification
• Strategy 7 Authentic Applications
• Strategy 8 Parents on Board
• Strategy 9 Search for Meaning
• Strategy 10 I Can Teach
• Strategy 11 Write It Down
• Strategy 12 Learning Illustrated
• Strategy 13 Clear and Unclear Windows
• Strategy 14 Letting Questions Percolate
• Strategy 15 Record Keeping