Weekly Coaching Communication
Make it a great day -- every day!
04 -- 08 April 2016
On the Standards Front . . .
Just published in the April issue of Educational Leadership, Dr. Tom Guskey and Jay McTighe (April 2016, 73:7) present a co-authored article, "Pre-Assessment: Promises and Cautions," on the use of pre-assessments. Back in January, Mindy Meyne and I brought the good news and perspective of using pre-assessments as "first assessments" after some teaching had happened in your courses. Guskey and McTighe provide a much more extensive view of the purpose for pre-assessments and the cautions of using such.
I have liked the article above, but you may require membership privileges, I have the print magazine available for perusal -- lots of other good grading articles in this month's issue, as well! Until then, here's the bulleted/numbered points:
Some of the most frequently mentioned potential benefits:
1. Determining Students' Prior Knowledge and Skills
2. Monitoring Student Progress
3. Communicating Expectations
4. Focusing Students' Attention on Learning Targets
5. Checking for Misconceptions
6. Identifying Students' Interests, Talents, and Preferred Ways of Learning
Some Cautions:
1. Beginning on a Bad Note
2. Wasting Instructional Time
3. Creating Management Challenges for Teachers
4. Taking Too Much Time to Analyze
Guidelines for Effective Pre-Assessment:
1. Clarify the purpose(s) for pre-assessment -- "Always explain the purpose of the pre-assessment to students. Emphasize that the information from the pre-assessment is intended to help you better understand how to address students' needs, connect to their interests, and excite them about the forthcoming topics. Assure students that the results of these assessments will not be used for grading purposes."
2. Determine how you will use the information -- " Use the results of pre-assessments to adapt your teaching to enhance student learning."
3. Use pre-assessments judiciously and efficiently -- "Use them only when they provide information you don't already have or cannot anticipate and when they prompt student interest or thinking about the topic to be learned."
Quick Clicks
Website (Tools to Use or Peruse)
Suggested Reading
Here's the Table of Contents for the April Issue:
(Links are active but need membership to read full article.)
April 2016 | Volume 73 | Number 7
Looking at Student Work
Perspectives / Reviewer, Critic, Teacher
Marge Scherer
The Secret of Effective Feedback
Dylan Wiliam
John Hattie, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
Heidi Kroog, Kristin King Hess and Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
The Building Blocks of Learning
Jennifer L. Kobrin and Nicole Panorkou
Pre-Assessment: Promises and Cautions
Thomas R. Guskey and Jay McTighe
Standardized Tests: Purpose Is the Point
W. James Popham
Grading: Why You Should Trust Your Judgment
Thomas R. Guskey and Lee Ann Jung
How I Learned to Be Strategic about Writing Comments
Cris Tovani
Gabrielle Nidus and Maya Sadder
Rob Traver
Joanne Kelleher
Trending Tweets
Quotation of the Week . . .
As we begin the first full week of the final quarter of the school year, as busy as you are and have been, I do hope that you take some time to reflect on your beliefs and practices. In order to do "deliberate better practice," teachers need to think about what they have done in past practice and its impact on student learning. The changes that you make based on that reflection need to be in an effort to better what you have done in the past.
Recently, teachers' beliefs were put to question concerning the schedule, and many voiced their process of reflection and current belief of what is best for students. I hope this same passion for the process of reflection can be carried over into your teaching practices as we close out this school year's last quarter and continue to prepare for next year.
Coaching Schedule -- see Google Calendar for specific "Busy" times **schedule subject to change**
Monday, 04 April
- Serve Teachers & Students
- Classroom Observations
- Research & Resources
Tuesday, 05 April
- 1:00 Webinar for Special Education -- Attaching Standards to IEPs
- Serve Teachers & Students
- Classroom Observations
- Research & Resources
Wednesday, 06 April -- DATA TEAM MEETING @7:30 HS Media Center
- GWAEA -- NGSS Workshop with Science
Thursday, 07 April
- Serve Teachers & Students
- Classroom Observations
- Research & Resources
Friday, 08 April -- Standards-Based Grading Council Meeting 7:30 (moved from 12 April)
- IC/Principal Libolt Weekly Meeting and Planning for 4/11 PD 8:30-11:30 AM
- IC Team Meeting with Program Leads 12:00-3:30 PM
Click on the link to access prior weekly communications.
Contact Information
Center Point - Urbana CSD
Email: epopenhagen@cpuschools.org
Phone: 319-849-1102+91015
Twitter: @Epopenhagen