Education and Assessment Philosophy

It is my belief that through education an individual will receive the skills and tools that

are necessary to build a life that is successful and flourishing .Education also helps to encourage

individual talents and recognitions. The Canadian Council on Learning states that “learning is

holistic, lifelong and experiential (CCL, 2007). It is our role as educators to recognize students

for their abilities, strengths and values. As teachers we are responsible to help lead students on

their journey towards reaching their goals and dreams. “Most educators want learning activities

to have positive effects that extend beyond the exact conditions of initial learning” (Bransford,

1999).

As educators it is our duty to ensure that learning takes place in a safe and supportive

learning environment. For students to feel comfortable with their learning, a secure

atmosphere can truly make a huge difference within the classroom. Classrooms that are set up

with great thought and consideration help to welcome students so everyone feels involved.

Classrooms are an environment where students spend many hours each day. Aspects that

affect the learning environment can also involve the physical setting within the classroom. It

involves adapting and making arrangements to meet the needs of students and environmental

factors. When they are well designed it helps to increase that comfort level resulting in great

engagement and higher achievement levels. It is important that all students with or without

disabilities feel included within their learning environment. “The goal of inclusion is to permit

the child with a disability to thrive in a regular classroom environment” (Price, 2000). When

students feel as though they belong, their chances of being successful in assessment and

achievement heightens greatly.

 I also believe that students do not care what you know, but they want to know that you

care. It does not matter to students what classes you took to get your teaching degree or if you

know the dictionary from front to back. Students want to know that their teachers care. If a

student does not feel like their teacher cares it is going to have a different impact on the way

the student feels and their involvement in the classroom and the relationship they have with

their teachers. Teachers have a right and responsibility to adapt the curriculum to help students

learn. Being able to make changes will help meet diverse needs of students and will be useful to

creating effective methods of instruction.

It is important to remember that all students are different. Students differ in interests,

learning styles and life circumstances. Using differentiation in the classroom is very effective as

its goal is to reach success for all students. Knowing students different learning styles will help

educators be able to adapt to ways the students learn. Students have multiple intelligences and

so it is very affective to teach students in a variety of ways to help meet the needs of different

levels of intelligences no matter what it may be. It is important for all students to practice all

these different intelligences. It is also important that teachers are familiar with their students’

heritage and background so they can work towards meeting a wide range of diverse ethnic

differences.

Assessment is a very important aspect of education as it works to support and enhance

students learning. It works to help evaluate the degree to which we are fulfilling our mission.

“One purpose for assessment is to gain an understanding of a child’s overall development”

(Boehm, 1992). Focusing on assessment results to facilitate to improve programs, services,

teaching and learning that is completed in and around the classroom. As educators we assess

students to determine not only what our students know but also to see how successful our

instructional strategies and methods are. “Assessing to promote children’s learning and

development advocates that the process of teaching and the process of assessment are

inseparable” (Gullo, 2005).

To be more accurate in our evaluations, I believe it is important to assess students with

a wide variety of assessment techniques and tools. By doing this we are not only able to get a

clearer picture of the students ability but will also reach out to a wide range of students as each

student is different and excel in different ways. Assessment should consist of an ongoing

collection, analysis and interpretation of information. I think it is important that assessment in

education takes on many forms. It is important that as educators we use tools to enrich our

student’s knowledge or themselves and their learning styles. When educators limit their

assessment tools to tests they are limiting their students ability to express themselves and

show what they are capable of. One source says that, “As parents we shouldn’t be worried

about a teacher who rarely gives tests; w should be worried about one who needs to give

frequent tests because he or she may have no feel for how our children’s minds work” (CCPA,

2009).

I think it is important that assessment as an ongoing feedback source can be very

effective for students’ learning (formative assessment). As educators our challenge is to “find

ways to facilitate ongoing feedback for students that will increase their chances to continue to

grow and improve their learning” (Gregory, 2007). Portfolios are a great example of ongoing
assessment. They allow use of reflection and can allow students to set goals and try and

improve. Formative assessment can also happen before instruction to help plan and make

adjustments to promote quality learning for all students. Observation checklists are also

another form of assessment that is done overtime and spread out. These checklists can be for a

variety of things such as concepts, skills, attitudes or processes.

When assessing learning, I feel we need to ensure that we use different approaches to

check the fit and adjust to the learning. Summative assessment is also another approach to

assessing students understanding. This approach occurs after the instruction has taken place to

find the extent of the student leaning or effectiveness of the instruction at the very end. This

type of approach would include assessment tools such as a final exam or final grade. “Grades

can motivate as well as show evidence of performance and acquire knowledge, but they also

can be demoralizing” (Gregory, 2007). It is important that we test only and exactly what was

taught. Written assignments are also an alternative form of summative assessment. This may

include things like essays, reports, journals or letters. These types of assignments allow

students to plan, compose and report upon what they learned and gives teachers another

opportunity to evaluate their understanding.

I believe that education and assessment go hand-in-hand. After educators provide

students with information, or a task it is important that we collect information on their product

or result to ensure that they understood the concept being provided to them. It is also effective

as it can give basic feedback on whether the instruction or teaching strategies was appropriate

and where changes may need to be made to alter the end result. Education and assessment
work together to provide each student with the potential and right to learn in a safe

environment where they will be challenged to do their best and get the most out of each

learning situation that comes their way.

As a future teacher I have come to realize the importance of assessment in a variety of

different ways to incorporate into lessons and classroom settings. Today’s classrooms are being

more diverse and so it is very important that teachers are prepared to help meet the needs of a

wide variety of students. I want to make sure that I get to know my students early on in the

school year so that things like their interests can be incorporated to help stimulate success.

Finding activities that will engage students can sometimes be challenging but is both rewarding

for the student and the teacher when it comes to assessing and evaluating the growth and

development of the student. I want to ensure that I use I wide variety of both formative and

summative approaches, but in their appropriate situations and circumstances. Assessment is

not easy. It takes a lot of time, effort and determination. Depending on the assessment tool

chosen, assessing can be a lot of work. Gathering enough evidence and information to be able

to provide students with comment and marks for report card is also something I worry about as

a future teacher. Although assessment is a lot of work and has its obstacles, I look forward to

the challenge and cannot wait to try out some of these techniques and tools in my own

classroom!