Artifact 9

Context: I completed this assignment in sections over the course of the semester. This project was for my math methods course in my Block. I began by interviewing students and reflecting on our conversations. Next, I assessed a set of papers collected during my internship. I was able to see how to grade papers, noticing the levels of understanding. Finally I looked more closely at the progression of one students work. I was able to analyze his growth, strengths and weaknesses in mathematics.

Impact: Teachers are constantly finding ways to help students understand concepts. It is essential that a teacher assess the growth of his/her students. By interviewing students I was able to understand more clearly how they think about math. Being able to follow a student over a period of time will help me as a teacher. I not only looked at his work, I watched him interact during math lessons. I am now more aware of how to assess students in the classroom.

Alignment: The student who I followed closely happened to be fairly strong in math. He tends to complete his assignments quickly, and accurately. In this situation it would be important to have alternate activities once his work is completed. Since the child is on a higher level, he would need some type of challenge work. As a teacher, it would be important to have a computer program or something of that manner for him to work on after completing his assignments. (Tech 13.1) Assessments enable teachers to understand how students differ in their approaches to learning. (INTASC #3)