Jennifer, You said what I thought and without offending anyone. I have worked with many great teachers who, as you said, used observation and assessments thoughtfully. However, I have also worked with teachers who have told me that they just "know" the student is reading at grade level and using strategies. Yet, when properly assessed, it was evident the student had not learned a specific strategy. Professional development is definitely a must in this area. Thanks for being so thoughtful and artful in your teaching and sharing that with us all. We all benefit. Carol
----- Original Message ----- From: Jennifer Palmer <jennifer.pal...@hcps.org> To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:28:06 -0000 (UTC) Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] title 1 reading - help I highly value teacher observation, especially, Renee, the one-on-one type that you describe. And certainly screening assessments have been misused in too many schools to count. In addition there are a lot of assessments that are just terrible, especially when used to guide teaching. (Like "speeded" tests for example.) And, finally, many schools are not assessment literate and try to use summative assessments meant for program evaluation to guide instruction. This misuse of assessment has made many teachers gun-shy of all assessments because they see the damage that the misuse causes. Assessment has been a major focus of my own professional reading for the past few years and what I have come to understand is that if it is done well, it is a tool that makes our work as teachers much easier. Misused, it is probably better to not use them at all given the damage that can occur. I have seen teachers teach nonsense words so that their kids could pass DIBELS. That is a grave misuse which sends the wrong signal about what reading really is!! BUT, I have also personally seen screening tools draw attention to kids that were missed by teachers in previous years who did not use the screening tools. It requires a thorough understanding of what the screening assessment can and cannot do... and above all it requires assessment literacy. Professional development is so crucial at ALL LEVELS...(especially administration!!) so that the tools are understood and not misused. Now about teacher observation... Speaking only for myself here, I found, however, that even my own experienced observations were contextual and very situational. Some decent assessments given to those kids in trouble really helped me gain insights into why I was observing what I was observing. The more experience I have gained, the more I have learned to verify my observations and not draw conclusions too hastily. Just another point of view...I guess I believe there is an art and a science to teaching. The art just might be in the decisions not only about instruction, but about gathering information to inform instruction. Teachers and schools are as individual as students. Jennifer L. Palmer Instructional Facilitator, National Board Certified Teacher (EC Gen) Magnolia Elementary School (Home School) 901 Trimble Road, Joppa, MD 21085 Phone: (410) 612-1553 Fax: (410) 612-1576 In EVERY child...a touch of GREATNESS!!! Proud of our Title One School! Norrisville Elementary School 5302 Norrisville Rd White Hall, MD 21161 Phone: 410-692-7810 Fax: 410-692-7812 Where Bright Futures Begin!!! ________________________________ From: mosaic-bounces+jennifer.palmer=hcps....@literacyworkshop.org on behalf of Renee Sent: Mon 10/10/2011 11:04 AM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] title 1 reading - help This was my first thought as well. There is no tool as good as ongoing teacher observation. The powers that be, especially publishers, have convinced so many people that this or that tool is more reliable than the teacher's own observations. Think about this: what does a "tool" tell you that you do not know yourself? I know that when I was teaching full time, I knew which students needed extra support just by listening to them read to me, in private, one on one. Renee On Oct 9, 2011, at 7:09 PM, Sally Thomas wrote: > I wonder why special screning tools would be necessary if we use miscue > analysis, words knowledge assessment (Words Their Way), observations, > comprehension rubrics informally ala Keene etc. Those are part of > ongoing > classroom assessment. I would think a teacher would know strengths and > needs and wouldn't need outside tools! > Sally > > > On 10/9/11 6:12 PM, "Dear" wrote: > >> I've been following this conversation and I am wondering what >> screening tools >> people are using to identify students' needs. " What was once educationally significant, but difficult to measure, has been replaced by what is insignificant and easy to measure. So now we test how well we have taught what we do not value." - Art Costa, emeritus professor, California State University _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
