Final Week: Math Post Week 6

This week is the final week of first semester. It has gone by very fast as it was compacted into only 6 weeks. This is very different then the first year format as we have attended each subject twice weekly and have been given far more independent learning. It has been a challenging but very valuable experience. In math, we have covered a different theme each week and combined that with online modules that support the topic and allow students to explore further and reflecting using online forum posts. We’ve also been writing weekly blog posts about our experiences and things we’ve taken away from the lessons.

This week in class we discussed assessment in math. Class started with a video called Mr. D which is a short comedy skit which looks at how we assess students. Our professor used this video to give us some important tips.

1) Trim the Fat

2) Skip It

3) Grades Create Anxiety

4) Focus on Comments

Trim the fat means focus on one thing at a time. Overloading students with tests and quizzes that evaluate too much will not benefit the students or the educator so attempt to focus on one standard at a time. Skip it means to focus on things that will further the learning. Sometimes we can get caught up with doing activities just for the sake of it but as educators we have to be constantly asking the question what purpose will this serve? Don’t waste time filling a page but make sure what you are evaluating is relevant. This is also important in time management for a teacher because if we are focusing on what is relevant we will make sure our workload is effective and reasonable. The third point is the fact that grades do create anxiety but inaccurate grades can also create anxiety. This means grade with purpose and ensure you have the time to mark properly. The final tip is focus on comments! Grades are just a number and this will not help students improve their work. Detailed comments on student work will allow students to see what they did well and where they can improve so that their future work can be better. I think these tips are good reminders for teachers about what assessment is supposed to be about and where to focus our energy.

The final thing we did this week was a webinar on reporting. This was an extremely useful webinar as I’ve never written any marks or comments for report cards. The biggest take away for me was to be specific and give examples of student work. It was also mentioned that writing in a clear manner was essential to ensure both student and parent understand what is being written. There were some excellent resources provided and I really valued getting an opportunity to distinguish between an effective comment and an ineffective comment.