Dora Casimir

ED318
Praxis Archive Synthesis #2

I cant believe how quickly this semester has gone by and how much I have
grown as a teacher! I feel like I have learned so much. When it comes to literacy
specifically, I am now armed with important knowledge about formal assessments I will
more than likely have to administer. I also have broadened a better awareness of how a
students background knowledge can affect their success on assessment. On top of
this, I have developing a deeper understanding of myself as a teacher and the beliefs
and goals I hold.
As we continued on through the second half of our semester, we discussed our
second essential question. This was, What does a teacher need to think about
regarding assessment of and through students literacy practices? There are SO many
factors that go into this. Dialect and culture can definitely impact a students
interpretation of an assessment being given to them. It is very important to think about
whether students from a variety of backgrounds and languages will be able to
understand the context of a question, for example. A students own personal interests
can also have a significant impact on that students performance. A students reading
fluency while reading a text that they enjoy and are engaged is very likely to be better
than when they are reading something that they couldnt care less about! In addition to
this, a students experiences with literacy at home definitely effects their literacy success
in school. Some families may immerse their children in rich literacy experiences while
others may not prioritize it to that level. The children exposed to a wide variety and
diversity of texts from a young is given an advantage, especially if they are a part of the
dominant culture.
You also have to consider whether what you are asking students to do is
accurately measuring their knowledge. This just makes me think of myself and multiple
choice tests. I have always been a great test taker when it comes to these types of tests
because I am really good at recalling information and recognizing a right answer when
they are right in front of me. However, give me the same test but with short answer
questions instead, and I guarantee you I would have a much more difficult time. This
means that my study habits for these different types of assessment differ quite a bit. For
the first, it involves cramming as much in my brain as possible so that I can pick out
small details of correct answer, while the second requires much deeper thinking and
making sure I actually understand the concepts to the point that I can articulate them. I
think that this is so important to realize when it comes to assessment. Are you actually
measuring what you want to measure?
This leads in well to my revised first learning goal, which deals with assessment.
I wanted to have a better understanding of the more formal assessments that I will likely
be required to perform, as well as a better overall toolkit of summative assessment
methods. I can definitely say I have made significant progress towards this goal. It was

so great to actually be able to practice giving these assessments to actual students.

Experiencing something really helps solidify the understanding and identify any
confusion you may have. We got to do exactly that with the 3-minute reading
assessment, spelling inventory, and reading records. Going beyond that, I have gained
the necessary knowledge to assess students in other ways besides the traditional test
or exam. This may include writing an essay, answering short answer HOTS questions,
giving an oral presentation, creating a poster, and much more. Although these methods
are less cut and dry when it comes to grading, as I experienced during Bothwell week,
they often provide very important differentiation to allow students to approach a topic at
many different levels.
During our meeting about my first synthesis, we discussed my second learning
goal. This was about how I had wanted to participate in class more often and just work
on my speaking and communication skills in general. We talked about the fact that me
speaking up in class really doesnt have much of an impact on my abilities as a teacher,
so is it worth it to worry about it so much? This was more something I felt as though I
had to include because of my experiences throughout my education. Because of this, I
decided to revise this goal to be something a little different. I thought a lot about what I
was really getting at with this goal in the first place, and I wanted to push myself to do
things out of my comfort zone. I feel as though this is very important to not become
complacent with yourself, and to learn and grow as a person. So, this became one of
my new goals! It felt much better not focusing so much on something that was quite
frustrating to me, and I had many more opportunities to feel successful in this goal.
Although I feel as though I will always feel this pressure in the classroom environment,
changing this goal definitely helped me relax more.
I decided to continue with my third goal of demonstrating my beliefs in my
lessons and various assignments. The belief of mine that I have really gotten to focus
on throughout the remainder of this semester is student autonomy, and how I believe
students should be encouraged be independent learners. While planning my lessons for
Bothwell week, I really tried to show this belief by creating student-centered and student
led lessons in which I acted as facilitator rather than a lecturer. I also really thought
about purpose and giving students the so what? about what they are learning. It is so
important, especially for middle schoolers, for students to recognize the importance of
what they are being asked to learn in their own lives.
When Bothwell week arrived, I did not expect to enjoy teaching middle school as
much as I did! My lessons went great, and it was so amazing to see how engaged
students were in the content without me having to really do or even say very much at
all! I loved seeing students experiencing the content hands-on versus the traditional
reading it in a textbook and answering some questions. In my social studies lesson, in
which I integrated Language Arts, students did an amazing job at recognizing
connections to their own lives in their responses. They thought of things that I definitely
did not. This was definitely an affirming experience in that I know that I absolutely love
teaching in this way, and will continue to work towards creating lessons that accomplish
these goals as I continue throughout my career.

All in all, this was a wonderful conclusion to the semester. I feel as though I have
grown so much as a person and a teacher. I have had great opportunities to develop
and refine my goals and beliefs in the field, which will be invaluable to me as I move into
student teaching (ahh!). Despite this, I feel as though there is so much more to learn
and I have just scratched the surface. I feel like this feeling will probably never go away!
The more you learn, the more you realize you dont know. I am so excited to continue
on my journey as a teacher. It is hard to believe graduation is just a few short months
away!

Grade Justification
Praxis Archive Rubric
Criteria
Archive
Organiza
tion
Weekly
Entries
Course
Readings
Course
Assignm
ents &
Experien
ces

Expectation

Artifacts and entries are dated and clearly labeled.

Archive includes multiple (3+) entries each week.

Archive includes thoughtful responses/notes to class readings.

Archive includes numerous artifacts from course work (including
all course assignments) and/or field experiences as well as
reflections on or writings about the artifacts collected.

Point
s
5/5

10/10
10/10

10/10

Relevanc
e of
Archive

Writings include observations, connections (between learning in

various courses, readings, classroom observations, personal
connections, etc.), interpretations, questions, and thoughts that
appear to be meaningful and relevant to the learner.

10/10

Synthesi
s

Synthesis of learning is 2-4 pages in length, focuses on

individuals learning, addresses the essential questions from
the course, and addresses progress toward personal learning
goals or the refining of those learning goals.

30/30

SelfAssessm
ent

Archive includes a thoughtful self-assessment with clearly

stated criteria for assessment and sufficient examples to
support that assessment.

10/10

Ownershi
p

Archive generally demonstrates that the author is taking

ownership of her/his archive and learning process.

5/5

Overall quality of the archive reflects the thoughtful, engaged

work of a prospective teacher.

5/5

Archive is handed in on time.

5/5

Quality
of
Archive
Punctuali
ty

Total (100 points)

100

I utilized the same point distribution as my last grade justification. I gave myself
full points for this assignment because I believe I met all of the requirements requested!
I have clearly dated my artifacts and organized them into weekly categories to make
them easier to sort through. I have included at least 3 entries per week, often more than
that. I have several thoughtful entries synthesizing the class readings in some way.
Once again, I have also included a wide variety of artifacts, including all class
assignments, in-class activities, reflections and assignments from other courses,
connections found on the internet or elsewhere, and more. Using the blog format made
it easy for me to go back and reflect on previous entries, as well as identify any
connections between them! When including artifacts, I always made sure that they were
meaningful to me and reflective of my learning and growth.
As far as the synthesis goes, I believe that I met the objectives for this portion as
well. I reached the required length requirement of 2-4 pages. I included thoughtful
reflections on my learning goals, the essential question we have been focusing on, and
my own learning throughout the remainder of this semester. I feel as though I put a lot of
effort into creating a quality archive and synthesis that reflects me and my learning to
the best of my ability. My archive is prepared and ready for my upcoming meeting.
Finally, I have created this argument justifying my grade! Therefore, it appears as
though I have met all of the criteria given for this assignment and should receive full
points.