Weekly Writing 10/20

What do we need to know about assessments?

Why?

Assessing students provides a road map for the teacher. Having a needs assessment can pTrovide the teacher with an idea of where the students are in their understanding before the class starts. The teacher is able to see where the students are and it gives an idea as to what path needs to be taken for student success. Furthermore, it can provide motivation for the students to study and learn. Students that gain motivation from assessments will study for the exam and possibly gain understanding of the objective being taught.  Furthermore, assessments give instructors feedback on how the students are taking in the information. This is important for the teacher as it allows for them to know if they need to change the approach of their teaching.

When?

Assessments should be done on a continuous basis. Teachers should assess their students throughout every lesson every day. You might wonder, "well how can you teach anything if you are just assessing"? Well, you are not giving exams or quizzes every second, but you are asking questions to the class. These questions might only consist of checks for understanding after a concept is expressed. However, a teacher is still assessing the students understanding with the question. Therefore, an assessment is occurring.

Assessments can also be taken at end unit objects to evaluate how well the students took in the information. This will show a cumulative result of teaching and understanding for the objectives taught in the classroom. From this point, the instructor can evaluate themselves on different methods of teaching to convey the information to the students.

How?

Instructors can use a variety of different assessment techniques. Some different techniques can include journal entries, concept maps (students relating ideas or facts to one another), lab workbooks, and literature reviews are just some "outside the box" assessment techniques. Assessments after instruction can vary in format in many ways. The format should be chosen on the level of thinking desired of the students. For example, multiple choice questions do not require the student to have a deep understanding of the content covered in class. However, essay tests require the students to students to have a very deep understanding of the content and calls for extra studying.  

Summary

Assessments are critical tools in understanding the learning that is taking place in the classroom. Without assessments, teachers would be trying to find a needle in the hay stack when it comes to understanding what the students need to know. Assessments can be given at any to check for understanding and student learning and are key to student success.