Introduction
Despite the amount of current research on the impact assessment for learning (AfL) strategies have had on student’s achievement levels across the secondary curriculum, there has been limited attention on its effect on students within design and technology and more specifically textiles.
This critical evaluation therefore reflects upon a range of AfL strategies used within a unit of work on construction techniques for a year 10 textiles class at School X. The analysis was made across 3 consecutive lessons over 3 weeks, each lesson would include a different AfL strategy or a combination of a range of different strategies.
School X is a small academy comprehensive providing secondary education to mixed gender 11-16 year olds with an above average percentage of SEN students. This group consists of 17 students, all female, with a mixture of high and low attainers and 3 SEN pupils who all have mild learning difficulties (MLD) and lack of confidence within themselves and their work.
At School X, they hold strong belief that AfL needs to be a part of every lesson to create independent learners. They focus on lessons driven by WALT (we are learning to) and WILFs (what I am look for) as well as rich questioning, peer- and self-assessment, amongst many other key strategies to develop learners to their full potential.
Within textiles technology as well as other practical based subjects marking work can be very subjective and so it can be tricky at times to mark work in a
The largest identified area of special need in the school falls under SLCN ( Speech, Language and Communication Need ) as set out in the SEN Code of Practice 2001 where 61% of SEND children have a medical diagnosis of receptive and/or expressive language difficulty, followed by 21% of SEND children with a medical diagnosis of and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Other types of need are Down’s Syndrome ( 2%), Apert’s Syndrome (2%), Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties SEBD (6%), Dyslexia (2%) and more generally literacy difficulties which are under investigation for potential specific causes (6%). These needs are justifiable as they have been recognised and identified as such by relevantly qualified and external agencies or are in the process of being more specifically identified
Ms. Foster teaches a self-contained classroom of ninth to twelfth graders. Her students have mild to moderate cognitive disabilities and one student is considered autistic although at a high functioning level. Ms. Foster’s students move to other settings throughout the day, but they receive reading and writing instruction from her. She has one child who is considered ESOL but he has been in the US since he was small and does not appear to have problems with English.
The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools.
If a student has a learning disability that should be immediately addressed by perhaps sending those students for one hour to a special need class at the school or getting permission from the parent to provide him or her with tutorial on certain days, if it is necessary this show that the
The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Removing Barriers to Achievement: the Governments Strategy for SEN (2004) – This provides framework for schools in order for them to remove barriers and raise achievement of children with SEN. This sets out the government’s vision for
The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools. Their aim is to work together to ensure good practice to promote effective approaches to enhance the students learning with Special educational needs.
* Removing Barriers to Achievement: The government’s strategy for SEN 2004 – This provides a framework for schools to remove barriers and raise achievement of children with special educational needs and disabilities.
There are a few ways to try and minimize the label of disability placed unjustly on students due to diversity. When compiling individual assessments more extensive background information needs to be gathered pertaining to school attendance, family structure, cultural beliefs, household changes and moves, and medical, developmental, and educational histories (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007). If there is a possible language barrier then a dual language assessment evaluation should be given. Also included in an individualized comprehensive evaluation is how a student responds to scientific evidence-based interventions.
Ja'mari is a 3rd grade student attending Lake Forest Elementary Schools of the Art and Sciences. He participates with non-disabled peers in an inclusion classroom for the majority of the day. He is a very sweet and kind student who is willing to work on any task that is given to him. Although Ja'mari is willing to work on any task,he struggles to be confident and social with his peers and adults. He requires prompting, verbal encouragement, one on one support, task adaptations to complete assigned task. According to his recent I-ready results, Ja'mari overall scale scores increased from 404 to 449. He made a 44 point gain. He is making tremendous progress. His strength is in Phonological Awareness. He tested out. Ja'mari has demonstrated the
Currently, I am student teaching at Alfred E. Zampella PS #27 School in the district of Jersey City. The school is located in a busy city, next to John F. Kennedy St. which is especially busy in the morning and during rush hour. This results in several late students on a day to day basis. On the other hand, this school is also highly accessible and as a little over a thousand students. The school has grade levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and has a mix of general, special, and inclusion education classrooms. Typically, families that enroll their students into this school are of lower-middle socio-economic class, and tend to be majority Hispanic, Indian, and African American, with few Caucasians and Asians. This school provides a variety of special programs for their ESL students and special need students. Students may be offered speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ESL programs, reading recovery, and counseling.
Unit 1 improved my pedagogical knowledge and ability of putting knowledge into practice to accelerate learning. I realized the significance of knowing my students as learners when results obtained from learning styles inventory and intelligence assessment completed by students provided me a strong base for selecting teaching methods for my lessons. I agree to Lefever (2011) that each person's learning style is as unique as a signature. Learning theories helped me in understanding students' behaviours, emotions, and thoughts. I focused on student-centred teaching by selecting participatory instead of passive teaching methods for my students. Informal assessment techniques as traffic light cards, fist to five, thumbs up/ thumbs down are great
“Students will evaluate their own results or solutions to problems, as well as those of other children, by considering how well a product or design met the challenge to solve a problem. When possible, students should use measurements and include constraints and other criteria in their evaluations. They should modify designs based on the results of evaluations.” – NSTA E.1.4.a.
In today’s educational environment, all students expect to receive the same level of instruction from schools and all students must meet the same set of standards. Expectations for students with learning disabilities are the same as students without any learning difficulties. It is now unacceptable for schools or teachers to expect less from one segment of students because they have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, discipline problems, or come from poor backgrounds. Standardize testing has resulted in making every student count as much as their peers and the most positive impact has been seen with the lowest ability students. Schools have developed new approaches to reach these previously underserved students while
Through the lesson plans that we developed, I’ve learned how to implement art that is developmentally appropriate, meaningful, and challenging for students. The integration of art must be meaningful to the lesson but also challenging for the students. The integrated lesson plan must also consider a diverse classroom, allowing all students equal access to what is being taught. Most importantly, art experiences must help each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals. As teachers, we must observe and assess each individual student in order to design an integrated lesson plan that is appropriate, meaningful, and challenging. (GPO2) Evaluation of individual child 's development and learning is essential for planning and implementing appropriate curriculum. Teachers must continually engaging in observational assessment for the purpose of improving teaching and learning.