VBlog Entry 3
Hi everyone! For my third blog, I interviewed my kindergarten teacher! Mrs. Mack has been teaching kindergarten in Galveston ISD for over 25 years. Luckily I have been able to observe Mrs. Mack's classroom for the past three years so a lot of her answers really connected with my previous observations in her classroom as well as the readings from the book. One of the first questions I asked Mrs. Mack was what impact has No Child Left Behind had in her classroom. She mentioned how it forced states to become more accountable for how ELLs were learning English and how it set requirements for states to adopt standards known as ELPS. She believes that making teaching more accountable for what students learn is a good thing and she is glad that GISD started requiring teachers to become ESL certified. Personally, I am very pleased with the fact that NCLB was enacted. According to Wright, "NCLB makes it clear that whatever ELL programs districts choose to offer, they must ensure that ELLs learn English as quickly as possible. NCLB has brought increased attention to the linguistic and academic needs of ELLS" (2015, page 86-87). The name of the act is exactly what it is and I love it because all children deserve equal opportunities to the same education, no matter their native language.
Since Mrs. Mack teaches kindergarten there are no high-stakes tests. When I asked what alternative assessments she uses with her students she stated that they take phonics skills tests and teachers use the Texas Primary Reading Inventory and the Scholastic Reading Assessment to determine what their students know and how to get them to the next level. Wright mentions, "authentic assessments identify and build on student strengths such as language, prior experiences, interest, and funds of knowledge to facilitate learning. Some common alternative authentic assessments include observations, performance assessments, self-assessments and peer assessments, and portfolio assessments" (2015, page 139). The main one Mrs. Mack mentioned was performance assessment but from my previous observations in her classroom, I know she also assesses through observations and portfolio assessments. Authentic assessments are very important especially since high-stakes testing does not take place in kindergarten. Authentic assessments allow teachers like Mrs. Mack to obtain valid and reliable information in order to evaluate their students. Thank you for reading!
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners:
Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print.
Second Edition.
i Marissa! How awesome that you were still in contact with your kindergarten teacher! I would not even know where to begin to find my old kindergarten teacher! But I am glad that you brought up the No Child Left Behind Act, it shows how dedicated she is to making sure that all ELL students learn and understand English so that they do not fall behind as opposed to other English Speaking students. I think the best way to show a child and their parent how much their knowledge and skills have improved is by the portfolio assessment. According to the text “students’ progress in writing, for example, could be easily observed by comparing writing samples completed by students during the first few weeks of school, those completed before winter break, and those completed neat the end of the school year” (Wright, 2015, p. 143). Because sometimes a teacher or the student themselves can forget where they started from and not even realize how much improvement they have gained throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteI love portfolio assessments! I remember having one in first grade and being able to look back to the beginning of the school year to see how far I had come. Something I would be interested in doing in my future classroom would be a pivotal portfolio. Wright mentions that they "follow the student year to year throughout the program. Teams of teachers decide what kinds of summative and formative student data to include, when to collect it, and what rubrics to use. The use of common assessments ensures that teachers share a language and a practice that is focused on improved student performance" (2015, page 144). I love how the goal is to see improvement overtime, which I find to be very motivating for students!
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Yes because some students cannot even remember the work the week before and it is great to have some of their best work saved throughout the year. I feel the more we motivate our students the better they do in the future. They will continue showing their teachers and peers about how much they know and what they can do. Eve Wright suggested, “the variety of samples in the portfolio provided a much better indication of their students’ progress in learning math than did the state math test given at the end of the school year” (Wright, 2015, p. 144).
DeleteHi Marissa! I really like that you mentioned Mrs. Mack’s other forms of assessment since she does not teach a high stakes testing grade. You mentioned portfolio assessments which I really connected to because my ELL teacher interviewee uses these as well. She mentioned that it is a great way to track students’ progress throughout the year and see how their writing and sense of direction has grown. According to Wright, “portfolio assessments are one of the most effective ways to measure student’s progress.” In order to have, “an effective student portfolio,” it must include, “samples of student work along with some indication of how the student rated himself or herself on the work, and evidence of how it met grade level curricular standards.” (Wright, 2015, page 143) I think portfolio assessments are a great way for ELL students to show how much they have grown over the span of a year and sometimes that is more monumental than a test score.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Hi Kallie,
DeleteI agree that portfolio assessment is a really useful way to see how the students have grown throughout the year. Another assessment that I have found useful is, self and peer assessments. My mentor used this on a project the students were working on, and to tell you the truth, I was surprised with what the students turned in. According to Wright (2015), self and peer assessments can be done through checklists or rubrics (p. 142). My mentor teacher used a simple rubric that asked the students to grade themselves and their peers on the amount of work each one did. They were also required to explain the grades that they gave. I was surprised at the amount of honesty each student gave in their responses.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
Portfolio assessments can be very demanding and time-consuming for teachers. Teachers can struggle to keep track of it, but if it is done well it can be very useful. Portfolio assessments are the best way to measure a student’s progress throughout the school year. A portfolio assessment is a collection of students work that shows development over time (Wright, 2015, p.143). The portfolio can contain works that students want to display, as well as, work that the teacher think should be included.
DeleteYou all make great points! Portfolios are just another way to measure students' progress. There is a need for multiple measures because "among the many other other problems with state high-stakes tests is that they provide just one piece of evidence about what students know and can do. As we have seen, this evidence is relatively weak and of questionable validity, especially for ELLs... Therefore, it is imperative that teachers use several alternative and authentic assessments throughout the year" (Wright, 2015, page 144). While portfolio assessment can be time consuming for teachers it is necessary to have multiple measures of students' progress in order to have evidence of their knowledge and skills, especially for ELLs since they are learning more and more English as time progresses.
DeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Marissa! I found it amazing that Mrs. Mack has more than just Spanish speaking English Language Learners in her classroom. I feel that while watching these videos I have mainly seen teachers mention solely Spanish speaking English Language Learners. I love that she works with students who's native language is Chinese, and Japanese. It is said that "Cooperative learning refers to collaboration in pairs or in small groups to solve a problem, complete a task, or complete a project” (Wright, 170). I feel that when you are working with students who speak such a large span of languages it would be helpful to have student work together and help each other build upon their English vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa! I liked how Mrs. Mack mentioned Texas Primary Reading Inventory and the Scholastic Reading Assessment and how effective she found each of these assessment to be effective in evaluating her student's progress. The Texas Primary Reading Inventory seems to be a performance assessment where "students are asked to perform a specific task or create a specific product, and the teacher evaluates the process, the final product, or both, according to a pre-established set of criteria" (Wright, 2015, p. 140). Since she teaches kindergarten and there is no high stakes testing, it is important alternative authentic assessments give an accurate representation of their academic growth.
ReplyDeleteWright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition