Teaching Reasoning Methods in the Classroom Essays

In this paper I will critically reflect on the teaching and learning cycle I engaged in to improve my assessment of student learning. I focussed on assessment due to its potential to improve instructional design and student performance (Brookhart, 2007, cited in Wiliam, 2011, p.8; William and Thompson, 2007, cited in Dixon & Worrell, 2016, p.155). The teaching and learning cycle led me to identify areas of

Assessing is a crucial component of education that informs teachers on individual development and understanding (Booker, Bond, Sparrow

Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a politician in recent years who has been elected to a national office without promising to improve education and focus their efforts on the betterment of their constituents’ children. Many of these politicians have succeeded at passing legislation to do so, but the latest of these, the Common Core standards initiative, is facing a very important query right now: does it work in America? Although Common Core is very well intentioned and in selective ways could be considered a success, there are many failures to consider as well. When dealing with such education, a vital issue, these failures must be dealt with. In order to ensure not only an equal education but also one of higher quality which the citizenry

Students will be challenged and asked questions that push them to refer back to what they’ve read. This stresses critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills that are required for success in college, career, and life (p.1)

Great question Amanda about the what results would we see nationwide if all states chose to incorporate the Common Core Standards? To look at the big picture of the Common Core State Standards Initiavtive, the purpose is to create a standard set for all students in the United States. When talking about the Common Core State Standards and how they affect students and educators we must remember where this argument started from. In the 21st century of learning Barth (2004) reminds us that "we are not just preparting workers, we are preparing citizens. It is our interest ,then, as much our responisbility to make sure that all our young people are prepared for the furture."

Kostos and Shin present the research problem by explaining (in great detail) the implications and consequences of students having these issues. The researchers explain the difficulty in having students focus on finding the right answer, and then shifting that focus to finding a meaningful process instead. Students are required to “communicate

Ch. 2 – Who are the various users of assessment and its results? What specific instructional decisions can be made based on assessment results? Why must we build balanced assessment systems to support the instructional programs we offer students? This chapter nails down the purpose of assessing, which is gathering information to inform teachers of students of their instruction and learning, respectively. In this way, assessment is individualized to each student and classroom, and because all students/classes are different, it should inform the teachers of what is working or not working in the classroom, which should then influence some sort of change to instruction. This chapter also talks about the different levels of assessment – from the individuals

One problem standardized testing imposes is that it cannot precisely measure a student’s amount of knowledge. With so many education systems and a number of teaching styles, there is no realistic way to cover the material every student has been learning. This leads to problems on the results of standardized tests. Swartz, of the National Center for Teaching Thinking said, “Most current U.S. standardized tests include only multiple-choice questions and provide no way for students to explain their thinking, So if a student answers (d) and that 's correct, it still raises the question, ‘Is he just guessing?’ And there 's no way to know,” (“Teaching Critical Thinking”). Standardized tests, especially multiple choice tests, are inefficient for measuring a student’s ability and knowledge. Clearly, multiple choice tests do not work. They cannot correctly determine how

The SAT is a standardized test which over a million students take per year. This test supposedly was made to determine, approximately, how well freshmen in college will do. Although, studies have shown only twenty five percent of test takers scores actually match their grades (O'Shaughnessy). The SAT is unnecessary and unfair for students applying for college because it prevents diversity in schools and big businesses only care about the profit from the test.

Standardized testing does not truly evaluate a student’s knowledge. “High schools are turning into ‘giant test-prep centers’, effectively closing off intellectual inquiry and undermining enthusiasm of learning (and teaching)” (Wallace 4). Students are now being taught in such a fashion that all

Utilizing standardized tests as a tool to test the knowledge of students outlines only a small portion of an individual's performance and creativity. The environment of the situation, creates an immense amount of stressors, such as time limits, the anxieties of doing well, or the endless pressures that the test can determine a student's future. Each individual comes with vast amounts of different abilities in which a single test cannot possibly account for all. Although the tests attempt to provide an evaluation of the student’s test taking skills, many students are smart, but it simply doesn’t show on the test due to the unaccountable external forces. In other words, there is an avoidance of the external forces, which limits the student’s proficiency because only the standard reading, math, and writing become strictly tested upon. One external force which hinders performance is that standardized testing evaluates a student’s efficiency only on that particular day, which does not account for other performances throughout the student’s overall growth. Consecutively, the students face frightening outcomes and unrealistic intelligence techniques that regulates a student's

To begin with, before studying this English module, my skills in presenting information in chart format was insufficient. In this visual literacy assignment, students were evaluated on their ability to interpret illustrations as well as various kinds of data and the presentation thereof in a meaning full way. Compared with the first assignment, I scored the highest mark for this one. However, the course material gave me the much-needed background information on creating a meaningful analysis of vast sets of data. For example, the type of data presented in a pie chart will be different from the data presented in a bar or line chart. This was incredibly beneficial information and provided me a new perspective on the creating of charts. Consequently,

Why should we invite Logic to our school is he, that helpful? As a matter of fact I think we should invite Logic to our school he is an amazing guy, he motivates people to keep living life to the fullest and to never give up.

In this day and age, students have an exponentially increasing amount of information at their fingertips. They think critically about and question what others - including school

Informal assessment allows students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways which can benefit all students. It can include group or individual projects, presentations, essays, experiments, or demonstrations. Each of these can allow for “knowledge that transfers from one situation to another [which] is based on students’ abilities to understand central principles, see connections and make distinctions, and be strategic in attacking problems and analyzing information” (Darling-Hammond, p. 285). A variety of assessment methods allow for this to happen and for students to use their personal strengths to demonstrate understanding of the information. “Research into students’ preferences for alternative assessments shows that the assessments that have been positively evaluated by students were more authentic and thus made learning more realistic and powerful” (as cited in Brown, Irving, Peterson, and Hirschfeld, 2009, p. 99). Students should be able to think creatively and take hold of their own education and learning because they must ideally be prepared for a rapidly changing society where they must be able to adapt and formulate their own solutions. Teachers are able to provide feedback to the children so they know what was done effectively and what needs to be modified. Rather than teachers pressuring students to show understanding through a single examination, they will have opportunities to confidently demonstrate knowledge with less