RIT Brief
Volume 3, Number 5, January 2018
KEA/K-3 Formative Assessment News for the Piedmont-Triad and Northwest Regions
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We Send You Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!
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Welome Dr. Abby Hoffman to the Piedmont-Triad/Northwest Regional Implementation Team!
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MYTHBUSTERS
Fact or Myth: The usefulness of the KEA and the formative assessment process ends after day 60.
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Spotlight on Eliciting Evidence of Learning
The Formative Assessment Process (FAP) is used throughout the school year to help teachers recognize students' needs and plan for instruction. The FAP is comprised of five critical components: Selecting Learning Targets, Developing Criteria for Success, Eliciting Evidence of Learning, Interpreting the Evidence, and Adapting/Responding to Learning Needs. For modules designed to define and provide examples of each critical component, click here.
- Eliciting Evidence of Learning helps teachers answer the question, “What can help me learn what the student knows?” and provides multiple pathways for students to show what they know.
The Practice Profile describes what to look for when Eliciting Evidence of Learning. Click here to download the Practice Profile.
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Quick Guide Close-up! Following Directions
It's important for us to know this progression is about receptive language rather than student behavior or classroom management. We use this construct progression to determine students' understanding of language as they respond to our oral language in the form of 1, 2, 3, and even 4-step directions. To find out more, go to the Following Directions Quick guide here.
3 SUPER STRATEGIES for Following Directions
1. Give children clear instructions using gestures (pointing, motioning, etc.) that help them move from one-step directions to more complex sequences.
2. Use props, pictures, demonstrations, and modeling to help children understand instructions, especially children who are just beginning to learn English and children with disabilities who have limited language skills.
3. Engage children in a variety of instructional settings (small groups and one-on-one) to monitor their understanding and apply a scaffold (visual cue) in-the-moment to support learning.
Eliciting Evidence for Following Directions
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UPCOMING WEBINAR IN January!
Full STEAM Ahead: Incorporating the NC Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) into a STEAM K Classroom
January 11, 2018, from 3:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Target Audience: Administrators, Instructional Coaches, and Teachers
Webinar Registration Link: http://tinyurl.com/yb85hfda
As teachers implement the NC Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA), it is beneficial to recognize that many kindergarten teachers have all the skills they need to begin the process in their classrooms. This is also true when using the STEAM activities in the kindergarten classroom. This session will empower teachers to carefully consider their weekly STEAM lesson plans with a specific focus on the whole child using the NC KEA.
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TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT: Saving Status Summary Reports
Teachers recently created Status Summary Reports. They should be sure to save these reports for their records. The reports can be saved as a PDF file. Follow the steps below:
- Click on the Report icon
- Select Status Summary Report
- The default will show a report for all schools in your district or all teachers at your school site and will include all children, using the current Status Summary period and all domains.
- To alter this report, click on Report Filter on the left of your screen.
- You may then select the site, the teacher, class, child(ren), assessment areas, and Status Summary period that you wish to include. Teachers will have access only to their classes but can select specific domains.
- Click on Submit on the right-hand side.
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Fact or Myth Answer: This is a MYTH. The use of the formative assessment process throughout the school year optimally informs instruction and supports children's progress.