Tuesday Teaching Point November 12

Tuesday Teaching Point

November 12, 2013

·       Equitable Access to Rigorous, Standards-based Instruction

·       Results-focused Professional Learning and Collaboration

·       Strong Partnerships with Families and Community

·       A Culturally-Responsive Organization

Teaching Point:

The center of our school wide focus this year has been Teaching Point. Teaching Point is the purpose of our lesson. It is also how we communicate our expectations and Learning Objectives to our students. There are two critical scaffolding elements which contribute to the crafting and expression of Teaching Point; Standards and Assessment.

In the last few weeks, I have focused on Standards in my writing about Teaching Point. I have discussed the importance of Standards and asked you to think about how you relate Standards to your Learning Objectives through your daily practice. I have shared with you what your colleagues are doing in their classrooms to let students know that each day’s Teaching Point is rooted in a Standard. I want to shift, now, some focus to the other element which supports our Teaching Point, Assessment!

Think about this. The assessments in your class, from formative to summative, must be directly linked to what you are trying to teach (Which is linked to a Standard). Teachers, therefore, must know how each assessment in their classroom aligns with Teaching Point.

It is really quite simple. If you are teaching students how they can draw inferences from text, you will assess them on their ability to infer concepts based on what they have read. They may demonstrate this by writing in a journal or perhaps verbally sharing in a class discussion. The teacher will look to see that they are basing their claim in the text that was written, and that they are not letting their own emotion guide their thinking. The teacher will assess the student’s ability to infer, because that is aligned with the Teaching Point. If the teacher, in their assessment, was instead focusing or emphasizing the student’s speaking ability, or the grammar, the alignment of the assessment might be in question.

That is not to say that writing and speaking properly are not important. It is just that these skills are not what is being taught in class on that particular day. If successfully drawing an inference is what is to be expected, then that is what the teacher should be looking for in his or her students.

Are your daily assessments aligned with what you are teaching? Are they loosely connected? Is your alignment direct and clear with what you initially told students they will be learning?

Teaching Standard:

In the 5 Dimensions, Assessment for Student Learning, The Vision states, “Assessment criteria, methods and purposes are transparent and match the Learning Target. Furthermore a guiding questions might be, “How does the teacher’s instruction reflect planning for the assessment?”

Teaching Assessment:

It might help us identify the alignment of our assessments by first identifying where we have not so strongly connected the learning target to what we are asking students to demonstrate. Please take a moment to reflect about a time in your teaching that you realized, that maybe, your quiz or discussion, or even a question, missed the mark? Please share with me if you think that has ever happened in your teaching experience.

Professional Collaboration and Learning:

This Friday we collaborate in learning about a method of examining student work. We will be assessing student work together through the Apex protocol as developed by the University of Washington. This will be a great opportunity to look at how assignments do, or may not align with what we are trying to teach. If you are assigned to bring in student work, I look forward to your examples. If you are simply participating in the process, please come with your best thinking about alignment and assessment to Teaching Point! Friday, November 15. We start together in the Library and will break out into teams to look at our student’s work, together.

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. Have a wonderful week.

Your Instructional Leader,

Mike