4-Activity 5- Self Activity

This activity has broadened my outlook on assessment tools. It made me realised that we just do not select assessment tools for name sake but we should have a criteria from which we should carefully select these assessment tools so as to ensure that they measure exactly what we intend for them to measure and that students fully understand them.Our students should also be given the opportunity to use some of the assessment tools to assess themselves and their peers.

1-Activity 9: What questions do I ask and why?

Asking good questions involves more than merely asking students to recall information from specific content. We must develop questions to suit our lesson objectives. These questions may be narrow or convergent (factual recall of information) or broad or divergent (stimulate thinking). My colleagues have provided some very good questions that they asked and the reasons were quite varied. As teachers we must practice and modify questioning behaviours in order to improve student learning and the social- emotional climate of the classroom. The different taxonomies posited by Bloom should also be taken into consideration when questioning students.

4 Activity 1- Reflecting on your assessment practice

The reviewing of one's assessment practice should be an ongoing effort for all educators. A summary of the results of the both questionnaires was very informative and has caused me to be more reflective in everything I do as an educator. It is very evident that for us to be fair as educators, the entire education process; planning, delivery, and assessment must be a correlated undertaking. If we are going to be effective in executing our duties, the whole idea of individual differences of our learners and strategically catering for them in every way must be our modus operandi, thus equal attention must be paid to our assessment practices.
Based on the results of the Teacher's and students' questionnaires, it is evident that I need to work on my assessment strategies and practices so that I can better cater to the needs of all my students. It is my intention to gain as much knowledge from this module as possible so that I can better assess myself and my students.

4- Activity 5- How we assess- Assessment tools

Based on the readings and from observing the different observational tools, it is evident that not all of the assessment tools that we use are suitable for providing us with the necessary information that we seek. in order to evaluate our students and ourselves accurately. We are therefore encouraged to have clear assessment criteria and standards and develop tools that adhere to assessment tool criteria and then we would obtain results that will inform teaching, learning and assessment .

4- 4 How we Assess- Assessment Methods

It is imperative that we implement proper assessment methods when assessing ICT integration. This will help us to ascertain whether or not the curriculum standards that we establish are best measured successfully using particular methods.Teachers should strive to use a variety of methods when assessing students and focus on methods that will assess both process and product.

1- Activity 8- Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s theories have had a major impact on the theory and practice of education. It  focused attention on the idea of developmentally appropriate education—an education with environments, curriculum, materials, and instruction that are suitable for students in terms of their physical and cognitive abilities and their social and emotional needs. Piaget's theory has the following implications for teachers :

1. Focus on the process of children’s thinking, not just its products.
2. Recognise the crucial role of children’s self-initiated, active involvement in learning activities.
3. De-emphasise  practices aimed at making children adult like in their thinking.
4. Accept individual differences in developmental progress.

1-Activity 7- Cooperative Learning

The use of  cooperative Learning is a very good strategy in teaching and learning. With its use come several 

benefits which include:

 

• Less dependency on teacher as students consult each other.
• Can be used across the curriculum.
• Improved social relationships.
• Diminished off task behaviours
• Training in leadership, decision making and conflict management
• Greater intrinsic motivation ans less reliance on extrinsic rewards.

When using this strategy teachers have to plan well and ensure that students are taught group dynamics. The groups should be balanced and as much as possible be heterogeneous depending on your objective because students may tend to become off task and disruptive or even competitive when they perceive that they are in a group with all weak students.

4- Activity 3- What we Assess- catering for diversity

Any successful teacher must consider diversity in their classrooms. Howard Gardner alluded to the fact that children have multiple intelligences and as teachers we must aspire to teach and assess students based on these intelligences. After all if they do not learn the way we teach and assess then we must teach the way they learn. If our students do not learn are we teaching?

1- Activity 6- Vygotsky's Cognitive Development

Many activities were posited by my colleagues on ways in which we can include opportunities for verbalising and dialogue in our teaching. Most notably were in class debates on various topics in the different subject areas, role playing, sharing journal experiences, oral report on research findings, dramatised poetry and ICT could be utilised in one form or the other in all of these activities.

4- Activity 2- What we Assess- Product or Process

Based on the posting from the various group members, it is evident that there are a host of different areas that we assess in our classrooms. We can assess how students:

• assemble a  product
• games to learn different concepts
•  use spreadsheet to solve mathematical problems
•  collaborate with peers to complete tasks
•  use process approach to writing compositions
•  convey their emotions using  colours in art class
•  use drama to highlight social problems

Some of the aforementioned areas have been utilised in my classroom and it is my hope that with the new knowledge gained from this activity that I would  incorporate some of them in my future assessments based on the topics that I would be teaching.

1- Activity 5- Developmental Psychology

This topic is on that is very dear to me. It makes me feel that I can do more than what I am presently doing for my students. Our students come to us with a myriad of problems from home and we are not even cognizant of them. We need to understand that children develop at different rates and we are teaching individuals not classes so we should teach each child how each child learns. Networks need to be established between the parents and teachers so that we can all work together to address any difficulties our students face. Teachers too have to be professional and trust worthy so that parents and students can open up to them and share their difficulties.