303: Foundations of Assessment

Writing learning targets scares me and I do not feel confident in this area yet. I don't know what it is that destroys my confidence here. There is a part of me that wants to say "We didn't use learning targets when I was in school" but that would be admitting defeat. Not to mention that is a pretty lame excuse. I'm an English Major, I have written a lot more complicated things. So why does this simple sentence scare me? I really appreciate the breakdown that we've been given to write the learning targets: Who + Verb + Object. This helps me so much. Now I just have to pick the right verb or object because the "who" is given. Learning Targets unpack the standards in student friendly language. It specifies what the students will be able to do during and after the lesson. It is a stepping stone on the pathway to the assessment. The targets are how we arrive at the knowledge the student needs to have for the assessment. The idea is to gets the studen...

As a parent, I have taught my children to hold themselves to high standards just like my parents taught me. High standards are a great goal to have whether it's grades, health, integrity, or lifestyle. Standards push us to continually improve. So why did they come as a shock when introduced to education... it is mind-blowing to think back to when education standards first became a "thing". The Standards were not welcomed with open arms. "Change is bad" and "why fix it if it's not broke?" were the concerns at the time. I really appreciate that my children are learning the same things or standards as their cousins who attend different schools in different states. As a future teacher, I really appreciate the content learning standards because I feel it makes lesson planning easier. It guides and even inspires my planning. I can look at the list of standards and plan an entire unit with the end goal in mind. It is essential to plan with the end in mi...

As a small child, my younger sister learned to do everything before me: riding bikes, swimming, cartwheels, even skipping. It was easy for her and I just had to practice more so I could get it down. I got so good at working hard that when I fall, I laugh at my err, get up and try again. I've learned to have grit. Learning has never been easy but what else am I going to do? I love learning new things. I could stay in college forever because I love it that much. I've majored in Business, History, Geology, Social Work, and finally English (I don't recommend changing your major this many times). I've enjoyed all of my classes and they have required me to be gritty. Perseverance and grit have impacted my life as a learner. I didn't want to be the stupid kid anymore so I studied hard and got good grades in school. I received academic scholarships for college and graduated high school with a year of school already completed. I moved to Spain for 18 months and discovered ...