Summary
Assessment is a
popular, yet challenging topic in education. There are many methods of
assessment as well as many differentiated views on how it should be done.
Alvermann explains that school administrators see assessment as a way to show
the effectiveness of a program and demonstrate accountability, while teachers
view assessment as a way to see the progress of their students and themselves
(pg. 126). Many types of assessments were explained in the chapter, but
authentic and performance interested me the most. Authentic assessments include
journals, portfolios, and hands on activities to demonstrate how much a student
has learned. These are usually more time consuming, but give a better representation
of student achievement. Performance assessment is similar to authentic in that
they both involve using the same activities, but performance usually include
rubrics; benchmarks or criteria for judging student performance (Alvermann,
133). This type of assessment includes an instruction that is more focused
because students know what is expected of them, and why they need to learn it.
Critical Reflection
Assessment
is an important because when done correctly, it is beneficial to both the
student and the teacher. With an assessment such as a journal or portfolio, the
student can reflect on what they have learned, as well as share any concerns.
The teacher can get to know the student better, find out how they feel about
the class, and also reflect on how to improve lessons to make them more
engaging. One downside to authentic assessment is time. Writing in a journal,
performing, and doing hands on activities do usually take more time than
filling out a quiz or a test.
Implications for teaching
Many students sign
up for music class because they think it is an “easy A.” In my experiences, it
has been true. It is very difficult to assess, let alone give a critical grade
to a student learning how to play an instrument. If you give them a low grade,
they may get discouraged and quit playing. For my future music classroom, I
plan to use a lot of authentic assessment. I have seen music teachers that have
used student portfolios and have found them to be very effective. The journal will
be graded on the use proper grammar, good organization and completeness. Having students perform etudes and
scales on a regular basis is also an effective way to assess. This way you can
see the progress of the student and grade them off of that. I will give my
students a rubric that explains to them what they will be tested on
(intonation, expression, technique) along with a scale, so that they will know
what is expected of them.
Relation to standards
An authentic assessment such as a
student journal or portfolio meets the Sub-strand C standard for music
education which states, “the student will understand the meaning of
informational texts using a variety of strategies and will demonstrate
interpretive comprehension.”
Hi Anna,
ReplyDeletegrading is a tough part of the job for sure... critical might be a strong word and students do get discouraged, but sometimes they need a little nudge. One way that I use is ongoing formative assessments. I also allow students to choose their review (pick their test). They can complete their unit summative assessments in writing or orally.
I like to give them the chance to reteach to each other on functional tasks; that way they have to use the language - identify & relate, compare & contrast, sequence & synthesize...
There is no way around reading through the class text or practice writing, but it can be interspersed with hands-on activity as review, peer partnering, multi-media for the auditory and visual students.
As long as there are combinations of pre-planning, implementation, and assessments, I believe that validity, objectivity, and reliability are effected.
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ReplyDeleteHey Anna! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I agree with all you have to say. I think that your inclusion of both authentic assessments and informal assessments will be a great way to gauge the level of your music students as well as how much the progressed throughout the course. I believe that informal assessments, like the ones you mentioned, can be much more beneficial to teachers in the long run, when compared to standardized tests and other large examinations. In my own experience, I have personally responded much better to informal assessments and know that my skills shine through during those authentic assessments where I can demonstrate to the teacher what I have learned and what my strengths are. I believe that students will be more likely to perform at a higher level when there are in their normal classroom setting, doing routine activities as well as some authentic activities that also play the role of an informal assessment. I think these types of assessments will be a better gauge of a student’s current level and strengths.
DeleteI agree that these types of assessments take more time to incorporate into your classroom but I think that what is accomplished by the student and what the teacher takes away from the assessment, makes it well worth the time spent on the activity. The students will take much more away from a portfolio that targets their interests and strengths than they will from a stressful, timed, examination.
I think your inclusion of these assessments in your music classroom is a great way to get to know your students. I was an orchestra and choir student for many years and with that my teachers had incorporate journals and portfolios into my classroom. I honestly would have loved to have researched the history of a piece of music we were singing or an artist that interested me. I think music history and context should be incorporated into a mainstream music classroom.
Thanks again for your post!