Monday, January 19, 2009

Intro and assessment

Hi! Well my first post was a very brief intro/practice post, but this starts the official blog of the semester! For starters my name is Christina Fiore, I am 22 years old and a Senior at St.Peter's College where i am double majoring in Elem. Ed and American Studies. After which I am planning to pursue a career as a teacher in an Elem. school. I have a passion for working with children and I've enjoyed all of my experiences so far; whether it be in the toddler room at the daycare, a one on one aide for a child in a special needs school, or just babysitting children of all ages. I've known for a very long time that being a teacher would be a fulfilling career for me, something that I would look forward to day after day!

Assessment in the classroom is crucial! When people hear the word assessment, many times automatically they think of just tests. That was what I always thought it was, until I learned that teachers assess students on a daily basis, sometimes without the students even realizing it. Assessment is the process of obtaining information, to make sure that your students are actually learning what is being taught. It comes in many different forms; such as tests, essays, worksheets, and even orally by asking questions within classroom discussions about topics being taught. If assessment wasn't necessary, teachers would have no idea as to what the students have learned and what is left for them to learn. It also helps teachers to adjust the way they teach certain things so that it reaches more students. Personally, like many others I wasn't a fan of tests, but they did help motivate me to study and really go over things so that I understood them better. When students do well on tests it gives them a sense of pride and confidence. However, it is important to assess students in all of the other ways as well, because some students may not be good test takers for a number of reasons. I think that sometimes the idea of a "big test" adds unecessary stress and anxiety for students, so if some of the pressure is taken off, they will do much better and learn a lot more!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Intro!

Hi! This is my intro blog for Tests and Measurements. This is my first on-line course and I am excited to be able to use this type of technology to learn more about education! More to be added soon!