Running head: PROJECT & REFLECTION

Project Description and Reflection

By: Anja Fletcher

CIL 621

University of Nevada Las Vegas

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Project Description and Reflection

Assessment is a tool that teachers use to identify strengths and limitations within a child’s

development. In order to understand how best to teach students, we must first establish where to

begin instruction. Utilizing a variety of assessment protocols allows teachers to identify students

with similar needs and scaffold lessons accordingly. While assessments are at their base, rooted

in good intentions, it is these assessments that can also pigeonholed both teacher and student,

dissuading teachers from pushing past the results to further learning. I used this project to

further my knowledge and skills at both utilizing and implementing research based assessments.

My goal was to develop a Website to include lesson plans, assessment tools, and

resources about reading, writing, comprehension, fluency, phonic/word study, vocabulary,

motivation, and approaches for teaching and five additional assessments. Administering

assessments to my students that provide useful information that I can use to tailor lessons to meet

their needs is my goal as a teacher. Conducting research into the various types of assessments,

as well as expert research into the best approaches to implement reading and writing instruction

was a lofty but attainable goal. Gathering this information provided me with a plethora of

information to take with me as I go forth in my career.

To begin accomplishing my goal, I first had to administer the following assessments with

my student: The Reading Attitude Survey; The Flynt & Cooter Comprehensive Reading

Inventory-2, Concepts of Print; The Words Their Way, Spelling Inventory; the Flynt / Cooter

Comprehensive Reading Inventory-2 Sentences for Initial Passage Selection and Assessment

Protocols; Writing Continuum Checklist (Analytic Trait), and Higher-Order Writing Continuum,

As a direct result of the assessments I developed a word sort lesson plan using a self-created

board game; a story map lesson plan and a Question-Answer Relationship lesson plan targeting
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reading comprehension; and, a “show, don’t tell” writing lesson focusing on character emotion.

Each of the lessons was created after examining the results of the student’s assessment’s and will

aid student in continuing to refine these skills.

In addition to the assessment tools that were described above, I wanted to research

additional reading and writing assessments that I could use with future students that would

broaden my knowledge base. Also, it was important for me to understand the reasoning behind

utilizing a variety of research based assessments in order to share this information with my

colleagues. “These purposes include determining students' reading development, informing

instruction, demonstrating teacher and school accountability, describing a reading program's

strengths and weaknesses, motivating and encouraging students, and teaching students how to

self-assess.” (Afflerbach, 2007) I researched five additional assessments to include the purpose,

standards, and instruction strategies. My specific focus was to find writing and reading

assessments that I would feel more comfortable using with my students and that my students

would better be able to understand the information. I believe it is important to share with

students assessment results and allow them to provide feedback in order to create a deeper level

of thinking and allow them to become metacognitive learners. “Metacognitive skills enable

students to regulate their thinking and to become independent learners who can enhance their

school and life experiences. Wherever the ambitions of our youth lead them, they will benefit

from being able to solve problems creatively, think analytically, communicate effectively, and

collaborate with others.” (Wilson & Conyers, 2016)

Next, I needed to research approaches to teaching that I felt were research based and best

practices. Through this research I found the authentic student learning that I had been striving

for through performance assessments and performance instruction. With the surge in mandated
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testing how can we be sure that students are learning and how are we providing opportunities for

them to display that learning is taking place? “Performance assessments affect learning as well

as teaching. Students are more motivated to learn and are more engaged with project-based tasks

than with other types of assignments.” (Afflerbach, 2007) What exactly is a performance-based

assessment and how can I use it in my classroom? A performance-based assessment is open-

ended and without a single, correct answer, and it should demonstrate authentic learning, such as

the creation of a newspaper or class debate. The benefit of performance-based assessments is that

students who are more actively involved in the learning process absorb and understand the

material at a much deeper level. The goal of performance-based learning should be to enhance

what the students have learned, not just have them recall facts. The following activities are great

place to begin for performance-based instruction: Presentations; portfolios; performances;

projects; exhibits and fairs; and debates. Although this type of instruction can produce great

results, it can be time intensive and complex for teachers to create.

Last, but not least, was building my Website and uploading all of my research and

documentation. One of the most challenging aspects of this process was perfecting my Weebly

Website. Although I have used this platform before, trying to integrate all of the aspects and

various features that I wanted to display was challenging. Through many dedicated hours, and a

little bit of help through the Internet, I was able to upload all of my documentation and provide

what I believe is a professional website that showcases my goal and the evidence of how I

attained said goal.

Through this process I was able to gather a multitude of evidence based assessments that

I will be able to use for students in my classroom. Together with the researched assessments and

the assessments utilized assessing my individual student, I feel more comfortable and more
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knowledgeable in employing a variety of reading and writing assessments in order to document

and provide lessons targeted at student growth.

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References

Afflerbach, P. (2007). Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K–12. International

Reading Association.

Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2016) Words their way: word study for

phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Pearson.

Cooter, R., Flynt, E., & Cooter, K. (2014) The Flynt/Cooter comprehensive reading inventory-

2: assessment of K-2 reading skills in English and Spanish. Pearson.

Scott, Nagelhout, & Spies . (n.d.). Higher-order concern writing continuum. Under Review, 1

(1), pp. 1-29.

Sloan. (1994). Analytical trait writing continuum checklist. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/Anja/Downloads/Sloan_Analytic%20Trait_writing_continuum_full%20%

20(1)%20(2).pdf

Wilson, D. & Conyers, M. (2016). 5 Strategies for teaching students to use metacognition.

Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/learning/5-strategies-teaching-students-

use-metacognition/