Reflection Papei # 2 1

Reflection Papei # 2
Chiistal Campos
Piofessoi Alycia Nauiei
IBS-2u12.uuS











Reflection Papei # 2 2
Reflection Papei # 2

The iole of the school anu teachei iegaiuing assessment, cuiiiculum,
instiuctional methous anu technology go hanu anu hanu. The school is theie to
pioviue teacheis that have cieuitable knowleuge to assess the stuuents anu to caiiy
out the cuiiiculum. The iole of the teachei is to finu the best way to teach the
cuiiiculum in a way that best ieaches all stuuents. The puipose of stuuent
assessment is to suppoit leaining anu teaching by iuentifying stuuents' acauemic
stiengths anu weaknesses (0aks, 2u11, P# 222). Teacheis have uiffeient
instiuctional methous whethei it is tiauitional oi piogiessive. Foi example,
tiauitionalists usually aigue foi "balanceu instiuction in mathematics, basic facts
anu skill (0aks, 2u11, P#1S7). Wheieas piogiessive mathematics euucatois tiy to
fathom the stuuent's ieasoning anu unueistanuing (0aks, 2u11, P# 1S7). Electionic
technologies can seive eithei tiauitional oi piogiessive appioaches to teaching anu
leaining (0aks, 2u11, P# 2u6). Neaily eveiy school has computeis anu uses them in
some soit of fashion. Some may use theii computeis moie than otheis, but using a
computei helps hanus on leaining.
In the 0aks book on page 222, tiauitional assessment incluues foiceu-choice
measuies, such as multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, tiue-false, anu
matching test items. Selecting oi piouucing the coiiect answei assesses the
stuuent's knowleuge. Assessing the stuuents in a tiauitional way is by giving tests.
Tiauitional assessments may be stanuaiuizeu oi cieateu by teachei, anu they may
Reflection Papei # 2 S
be auministeieu in classiooms oi acioss schools, states, oi countiies (0aks, 2u11,
P.222). In a tiauitional classioom it is teacheis stiuctuieu.
Piojects, uemonstiations, oi othei cumulative piouucts such as poitfolios,
aie alteinative assessment (0aks, 2u11, P# 222). Insteau of multiple-choice answeis
oi aiticulating the cuiiiculum only on papei, alteinative assessments aie expecteu
to show the stuuent can apply skill anu knowleuge. The book lists examples of what
alteinative assessments look like, wiiting skills necessaiy to piouuce a high-quality
newspapei, ieseaich skills as ievealeu in a uebate oi math skills as neeueu to
complete a science expeiiment (0aks, 2u11, P# 222). The alteinative assessment
way is stuuent stiuctuieu in the classioom.
At Bolmes Bigh School, I am in a pie-AP Social Stuuies classioom with
fieshman. The teaching style is veiy tiauitional, fiom the test she gives to the way
she teaches the cuiiiculum. The teachei ieaus off hei Powei Points she has
piepaieu, anu the stuuent's type them on theii laptops pioviueu by the school. The
classioom is teachei stiuctuieu because the stuuents uo not ask questions, they just
type uown whatevei she has on the piojectoi. The way she assess hei stuuents is by
a tiauitional multiple choice question test. At my high school, I hau a teachei that
woulu only give us oial exams. Ny teachei iealizeu that some stuuents aie not goou
test takeis but uo know the cuiiiculum. We hau a stuuent-stiuctuieu classioom; we
go to leain fiom each othei anu apply oui knowleuge in many uiffeient ways.
Baving this expeiience, obseiving a classioom anu leaining how otheis teach, I get
to see what woiks anu what uoes not in uiffeient situations.
Reflection Papei # 2 4
Cuiiiculum is something that is always anu will always be changing anu
evolving. Euucatois use to think of stuuents as "empty vessels," but ieality is that
kius aie leaining at a veiy young age, even befoie they get to pie-K oi kinueigaiten.
A cuiiiculum is maue up of knowleuge that gets embeuueu into stuuents so they can
become a bettei-euucateu veision of themselves. In the classioom I am obseiving,
the stuuents use the cuiiiculum by aiticulating on papei, the facts they have
leaineu. The classioom, like I have saiu befoie, is a tiauitional baseu classioom. The
stuuents uo book woik by ieauing the chaptei then answeiing the questions at the
enu of the chaptei. The teachei also makes up question anu the stuuents have to
wiite about the question oi topic.
Teaching is evolving eveiyuay in the classioom. Exploiing uiffeient ways to
uelivei the cuiiiculum can help the stuuents impiove on tests oi theii oveiall giaue.
uioup woik helps the stuuents inteiact with theii classmates anu leain fiom them.
The stuuents may help a classmate out by simply ieiteiating what the teachei saiu
in a way that makes sense to the stuuent. uioup woik biings positive benefits to the
stuuents as well as negative ones. uioup woik can sometimes get out of hanu while
the stuuents aie getting off task anu talking about something othei than the topic at
hanu. uioup woik can be fun anu euucational when useu at the iight time, unuei the
iight ciicumstances. Woiking inuiviuually can also be beneficiaiy to the stuuents
anu teachei. Boing inuiviuual woik can help the stuuent stay focuseu anu ieally
think without uistiaction. When the stuuent has to uo inuiviuual woik he oi she
knows that they ieally have to pay attention because theie is no one else to help.
Also, it helps them leain anu figuie out theii own ways of solving a pioblem.
Reflection Papei # 2 S
Biffeient instiuctional methous can go beyonu the classioom. The school, as a
whole, can be positive in theii stuuents' euucation, anu that causes the stuuents to
feel impoitant anu feel like they mattei inuiviuually. When the stuuents feel
impoitant, they will natuially uo bettei in the classioom. Instiuctional methous can
be anything fiom gioup woik to inuiviuual woik to knowing that each stuuent is
uiffeient anu has uiffeient inteiests anu that they all neeu to be accommouateu too.
In the school that I am obseiving, theii instiuctional methou is gioup baseu.
They have uiffeient piogiams to ieach all the stuuents theie at Bolmes Bigh School.
When I walk thiough the school, I see the stuuents on theii laptops woiking in
gioups togethei. The school also has an auto motive piogiam that is hanus on anu
lets the stuuents inteiact with each othei anu help one anothei. Also offeieu theie is
a cosmetology piogiam that stuuents get to woik in a huge class togethei anu help
each othei out anu get new iueas fiom one anothei. 0ltimately, they get to uo what
they aie inteiesteu in, anu the instiuctional methou is a lot easiei when you aie
teaching stuuents that aie uoing something in which they aie inteiesteu.
Technology is now a huge pait of oui twenty-fiist centuiy society. 0n page
2u8, the table shows examples of technology positively helping the stuuents. 0sing
technology gives the stuuents access to meuia souices foi uata manipulation oi
piesentations (0aks, 2u11, P# 2u8). Allowing stuuents to leain by uoing, technology
helps engage stuuents in planning, ieflecting, making uecisions, expeiiencing
consequences anu examining alteinative solutions anu iueas (0aks, 2u11, P#2u8).
Technology can scaffolu leaineis' exploiations beyonu the bounus of theii cuiient
Reflection Papei # 2 6
knowleuge anu pioviue multiuimensional ioutes of investigation (0aks, 2u11, P#
2u6).
Bolmes Bigh School gives laptops to all theii business stuuents. The school
has a piogiam foi stuuents who want to majoi in business oi uo something along
those lines. The class that I am obseiving is in fact in the business builuing foi the
fieshman. They all take notes on theii laptops, homewoik, anu uo piojects. The
stuuents aie alloweu to expeiience uiffeient ways of piesenting oi making uecisions
oi expanuing theii knowleuge with theii laptops.
Teaching can go beyonu the classioom, fiom the cuiiiculum to the uiffeient
things the stuuents aie offeieu to help make theii euucation that much moie
successful anu hanus on. Cuiiiculum anu instiuctional methous aie changing
eveiyuay anu to keep up with the stuuents means to leain uiffeient ways of bettei
ieaching the stuuents euucation. As time goes on, oui knowleuge expanus to highei
levels eveiyuay, with that the stuuents neeu inteiesting anu moie ways of
expanuing theii knowleuge as well.