I absolutely agree! I am concerned that it seems that newer/younger
teachers are less and less able to rely on their own observations,
and that it seems the norm to instantly look for a program of some
kind, rather than cultivate the knowledge and observational skills
necessary for good kid-watching. And once again, this is not a
criticism of newer/younger teachers... it is a criticism of the
system and their trainers.
Renee
On Oct 10, 2011, at 3:11 PM, Sally Thomas wrote:
Eloquently said!!!
Sally
On 10/10/11 1:28 PM, "Palmer, Jennifer" <jennifer.pal...@hcps.org>
wrote:
I highly value teacher observation, especially, Renee, the one-on-
one type
that you describe. And certainly screening assessments have been
misused in
too many schools to count. In addition there are a lot of
assessments that are
just terrible, especially when used to guide teaching. (Like
"speeded" tests
for example.) And, finally, many schools are not assessment
literate and try
to use summative assessments meant for program evaluation to guide
instruction. This misuse of assessment has made many teachers gun-
shy of all
assessments because they see the damage that the misuse causes.
Assessment has been a major focus of my own professional reading
for the past
few years and what I have come to understand is that if it is done
well, it is
a tool that makes our work as teachers much easier. Misused, it is
probably
better to not use them at all given the damage that can occur. I
have seen
teachers teach nonsense words so that their kids could pass
DIBELS. That is a
grave misuse which sends the wrong signal about what reading
really is!! BUT,
I have also personally seen screening tools draw attention to kids
that were
missed by teachers in previous years who did not use the screening
tools. It
requires a thorough understanding of what the screening assessment
can and
cannot do... and above all it requires assessment literacy.
Professional
development is so crucial at ALL LEVELS...(especially
administration!!) so
that the tools are understood and not misused.
Now about teacher observation... Speaking only for myself here, I
found,
however, that even my own experienced observations were contextual
and very
situational. Some decent assessments given to those kids in
trouble really
helped me gain insights into why I was observing what I was
observing. The
more experience I have gained, the more I have learned to verify my
observations and not draw conclusions too hastily. Just another
point of
view...I guess I believe there is an art and a science to
teaching. The art
just might be in the decisions not only about instruction, but
about gathering
information to inform instruction. Teachers and schools are as
individual as
students.
Jennifer L. Palmer
Instructional Facilitator, National Board Certified Teacher (EC Gen)
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
Joseph Chilton Pearce
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