Week 2 Journal

Provide specific evidence from your content area resources in your reading journal response.

• What does your discipline value in terms of assessment?

My discipline values application of knowledge and skills in terms of assessment. Gone are the days of strict memorization of science concepts. Students are assessed on their ability to transfer learned knowledge to new contexts and situations. 

• What is suggested of teachers when it comes to assessment?

Teachers are suggested to use assessment as ways to inform instruction. Formative assessments can provide  information about the present state of the learners, clear view of the learning goal, and action to close the gap. 

• What are some regularly used strategies?

One regularly used strategy for formative assessments is purposeful lines of questioning. From Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment (2001), I learned that teachers should give students extended time to think through given questions and talk to their peers. Teachers then followed this practice with asking students to explain their reasoning without the teacher evaluating the accuracy of the response. By then opening up the dicsussion to the class for the class to evaluate the student's response and add on, a teacher can collect data. For example, if a student provides a claim and reasoning about why the image is an ionic bond, the teacher can ask students to put thumbs up on down to express agreement or disagreement. Based on this small assessment, the teacher can alter instruction for the rest of the lesson and lessons to come. 

 

What does assessment look like in your content area? What, if anything, distinguishes it from assessment in other content areas? 

Assessment in my content area looks like testing both skills and content. Teaching science is not only about the acquisition or application of knowledge. Science Instruction is also focused on critical thinking, reasoning, modeling, and conducting investigations. Good assessment for Science incorporates both assessment of knowledge but also assessment on student’s ability to apply relevant skills to solve a problem. Other contents may be focused on different sets of skills, whether it be problem solving in Math or writing in ELA or History. 

Would assessment still be as valuable if it was not content-specific? Why or why not?

Assessment could still hold some value if it was not content specific if the assessment was then focused on skill building. The critical skills related to science are critical thinking, analyzing data, writing, evaluating arguments, and using models. Each of these skills could be targeted by other contents or be targeted cross content.