Student Centered Assessment

This module has helped me think about student-centered assessment in the following ways...

When assessing students, the time put into it can be more rewarding by their end results. When creating any type of assessment, it's important to recreate the final publication or project in order to fully understand the challenges that are involved. This will be more work for the teacher, but then the students and the teacher will have a better knowledge of the direction that the assessment is taking.
There are pitfalls that occur when allowing students to complete peer-reviews. When students grade each other, they base their analysis of one another on social issues and this does not give them an opportunity to fully understand the reason for a peer-review. This is why it is important for us to help them grade each other honestly. To better deal with this problem, the students should be given examples of how to conduct these assessments and it should be done individually.

Your Thoughts on Disrupting Class

The correlation between technology innovation and the direction which schools are headed are interconnected, but I am weary of the steps that are needed to make schools grow exponentially with the way they conduct matters. I'm wondering if the exponential growth is directed towards more virtual teachers as Dr. McLeod seems to indicate. During this year, I have found myself more productive and less productive at the same time when dealing with technology. I am constantly attached to my computer looking for email updates and searching for relevant teaching materials for my class. This helps me to be productive, but I realize that I spend less time actually checking my students' achievements by grading their tests and quizzes. Maybe this is my problem with time management or maybe it's the fact that everything takes time. Teachers need time to reflect before diving into innovations vicariously.

Unit Plan

Unit Title: Am I so DiffErent?

The students will investigate how to create, conduct, and present information on a survey virtually. To help them find significance in this project the students will send their results to an audience abroad after blogging with them. They will also provide a written statistical analysis of their findings.

Essential Question :
How different are students in other countries?
Unit Questions:
What method would you use in displaying thoughts and ideas about your country/state/town/school?
Content Questions:
What type of survey would you conduct to gather your data? How are histograms created from frequency tables?

Module 1 Reflection

This module has made me think about my role as an instructional designer in the following ways...

• To relate my unit plan to relevant subjects that would interest my students.
• Make a connection to current jobs.
• Find opportunities to connect the unit to possible scholarship opportunities.
• Present a community element into my unit plan.
• Research websites that are relevant and useful.
• Integrate different resources into my instruction.