Reflect on a
time when a lesson was meaningful. Consider how the lesson relates to the five
important characteristics of a quality curriculum.
This is a difficult question because there
is not any particular lesson that I can even think of, let alone relate to. I
remember specific projects that I have done, but no lessons. I think the
problem is that when I was in school, the differentiatio0n was not used much.
The teachers lectured or wrote notes on the board, and students were expected
to absorb the information. I am a visual learner, so grade school was difficult
for me. I learn best from visual aids and pictures. Writing on the board didn’t
help much because everything blurred together. I learned a long time ago that
if I wanted to understand something I was reading, I needed to separate ideas
with different colors. The best curriculums are focused on students and their ability
to understand, engages the students, and allows students to actively
participate in gaining knowledge (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011). Rarely
did the curriculum of the 1980’s engage the students and draw them in.
Then reflect on times when you were
assessed on your knowledge.
I have had some good assessments and
some bad assessments in my many years of schooling. The best assessment had options
available. The worst one had no options, and was graded on factors that had
nothing to do with the information we were learning.
My favorite assessment was in English
class my senior year. We had just finished our unit on Hamlet, and we were
given a list of final projects to choose from, using any of Shakespeare’s
works. I chose to modernize A Midsummer Night’s Dream and present it as a play.
A large group of my classmates joined me, and we traveled all over town, filming
or production. We were assessed on how well we understood the play, which we
showed through the modern translation. It was a lot of fun, and we all learned
a great deal about Shakespeare.
The worst assessment I ever had was in
biology class. We were supposed to dissect a frog, and draw a diagram of the
organs. This really was a problem for me. I am not the most artistic person,
and my drawings were sloppy and hard to recognize the organs. I did label them,
but that did not help my grade. This was the final for the lesson plan, and I
failed it. We were supposed to be assessed on our ability to recognize the
different organs, but I was marked down for my poor artwork, rather than my
knowledge.
What types of assessments stressed you
out the most and why?
Standardized tests used to strike fear
in me for weeks prior to the tests. It was common knowledge that these tests
were to find out if you know what you are supposed to know, and if you failed,
you were not smart enough. As least, that is what a child preparing for these
major tests believed.
Which
ones did you feel were least threatening and why?
I really liked projects and reports.
These types of assessments allowed me the opportunity to show what I felt was
most important in the lesson plan. I had a say in what I was doing, and I like
that.
Why do you think it is important that
teachers should consider multiple approaches to assessments?
I think different types of assessments
are better suited to the different learning styles. If teachers use only one
type, it could put some students at an unfair disadvantage because they have
trouble with that type of assessment. It meets the needs of each student,
rather than just a few (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011).
How do you think your learning would improve
if you were given options?
Options allow students to choose
something that works well with their learning style, Students gain more from
activities focused on their personal learning styles, and thus are more likely to
achieve their learning goals (Sousa, & Tomlinson, 2011).
Reference:
Sousa, D. A. and Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience supports the
learner-friendly classroom.
Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
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