On-Line Grade Books for all Teachers

Recently, every classroom in my school has been equipped with a computer and cable-internet connection. The availability of computers in the classroom has encouraged more teachers to initiate an on-line gradebook; however, not every teacher utilizes this on-line gradebook system which has become an efficient way for parents to get feedback about their students progress in a timely manner. One teacher commented that her students said "teacherease.com" is their parents' favorite site.

Now to the Instructional Problem: because we have the computer and internet connection in our classroom, the administration, faculty, and staff should work together to encourage the use of one on-line gradebook system, namely, www.teacherease.com. In addition to student progress reports and report cards, lesson plan and standards availability to parents 24 hours a day, the site also offers other perks:

• Easy data entry by office staff
  Since data entry is a concern to the office staff, special attention has been paid to allow easy entry and retrieval. The time saved will allow office staff to pay more attention to their many other important tasks.
  
  
• Staff can access student data
  Authorized staff (principals, counselors, teachers, etc) can access student data and collaborate on student issues. This frees the office staff from being constantly interrupted for basic student info (phone numbers, parent names, bus route, etc).

One of the Catholic high schools on Guam uses teacherease.com across the board. Their faculty and staff brought their studies of other on-line gradebooks together at a meeting. After they evaluated each on-line gradebook, teacherease.com was chosen.

Chapter 11: New Steps for Research (b)

This last chapter reminded me of the accreditation process which I have experienced at my school. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Focus on Learning is somewhat similar to the research presented in this last chapter.

One of the focus groups at my school focuses on the effectiveness of the present curriculum and what improvements can be made. The individuals in this focus group are comprised of faculty, staff, a student representative, and a parent representative. In the past, this focus group has surveyed students and teachers about the effectiveness of the curriculum. This year as my school goes through its mid-year visit, I hear more discussions about technology integration into the curriculum than I have during the last accreditation term.

One new research program that I am hoping for involves more faculties expressing interest in this “emerging area” of technology. More faculty need to provide input as it is changing the way we deliver lessons to our students and the way we communicate with parents and most especially, other faculty.

Chapter 11: Next Steps for Research (a)

RESEARCH ON PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE EDUCATION

Develop Tools for Effective Communication of the Principles of Learning to Teacher Education

14. Examine the efficacy of professional development activities.

The recommended research above is a factor in “promoting teacher learning.” Educators must take advantage of the “evaluations” that are asked of them after a professional development activity. Also, administrators need to gain feedback from the teachers to find out if the in-service training was effective or not. If teachers did not gain any knowledge or new insight from a particular in-service training, it does not make sense to implore such an activity the following year. When professional development is ineffective, the administration should look into revising the program so that time and money is not wasted on ineffective training.

Chapter 10: Conclusions (b)

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Tools of Technology

Last semester, I organized my first Web Quest and launched it in December. Although I revised it many times, the revisions paid off because my students were able to take off with the Web Quest. I anticipated them asking me many questions: how do we do this? Or how do we do that?

My Web Quest was geared towards the “History of Christmas Carols”. I decided to gear my Web Quest to celebrate the season that we were celebrating at the time-Christmas. My Chorus students were enlightened and appreciative of the lesson I gave them about the history of Christmas carols. Many of them mentioned that they became more knowledgeable about the songs that are sung throughout the Christmas season. This Web Quest tapped on Bloom’s Taxonomy-Levels of Higher Order Thinking Skills.

Web Quests are forms of technology which “provide ‘scaffolding’ support to augment what learners can do and reason about on their path to understanding (243).”

Chapter 10: Conclusions (a)

“Learning with understanding is more likely to promote transfer than simply memorizing information from a text or a lecture (236).”

This factor (I quoted above) of “people’s ability to transfer what they have learned” reminded me of my Composition II class. In addition to assisting them with how to write a research paper, I give them 15-20 words a week to practice them for the verbal portion of the SATs when they take it next school year. Rather than stressing the importance of memorizing the definitions, I ask them to write a sentence for each word. I have each student write a sentence on the board and I review each sentence for clarity with the entire class. In this regard, I am able to tap on subject-verb agreements, identifying parts of speech, comprehension, and applying the vocabulary words to current life situations.

Chapter 9: Technology to Support Learning (b)

Teacher Learning (226)

Introducing new technologies into the classroom has been a challenging experience for me. Last semester when I created my first website, the task became extremely time-consuming. Throughout the process of putting it together, I always asked myself if my students would really visit my site or wondered if they would find it interesting or challenging at all. After the first month I launched my site, I became addicted to it. I updated it constantly and tried to link other sites that would keep my students coming back for more.

I was fortunate enough to use the computer lab for one of my Composition II classes. Fifth block was lucky that the computer lab was not used for another class. During this block, my students were able to access my website, complete class work, and tap into the links for other resources that would help them improve their grammar skills. Additionally, I was happy to have been there physically throughout the whole class period to help them navigate through the Internet.

While it is exciting to incorporate technology in the classroom, educators must ensure that they guide students throughout the process. Technology has helped me become more creative when organizing my lesson plans and engaging my students into the subject matter. And like Chapter 9 mentioned, “(Teachers) gain new insights on teaching by watching their students learn (226).” I can definitely relate to this statement.

In light of what Chapter 9 stated, “Technology is used in preservice seminars for teachers (228),” I believe that the educational system on Guam is still far behind in this regard. More opportunities, in-service training, and technological staff development needs to be a part of the educational system. Perhaps during monthly or bi-monthly faculty/staff meetings, the administrator should devote 15-20 minutes to introducing or sharing classroom websites with the rest of the faculty and staff. Also, a teacher may share his experiences with an online gradebook or another teacher can explain a Webquest that she has incorporated into her classroom activities. While 15 minutes may be a very short time to discuss the use of technology into the classroom, it is better than getting no time at all for a technology boost.

Chapter 9: Technology to Support Learning (a)

Connecting Classrooms to Community

As stated in Chapter 9, “the Internet can also help link parents with their children’s schools.” I agree. Ever since I began using www.teacherease.com, I have noticed that my communication with parents is stronger than before. Many of my parents are informed of their child’s test scores even before their child receives the corrected test. My students’ parents appreciate the immediate feedback. More so, they are most appreciative of the immediate replies via email. I feel that I am more connected with my parents because it seemed as if I could never reach them via telephone communication. Most of the time, my scheduled prep time which is used to contact parents about their child’s progress (if necessary) did not coincide with the parents’ schedules; they were either out of the office or out to lunch. And maybe some of you will agree with me that it is at times, impossible to contact parents in the evening because of all our family and household responsibilities that need our attention after working hours. And I forgot to mention that the stacks of papers which need to be corrected scream for our attention as well.

Technology has made my life easier in regards to keeping parents and students abreast of grades, activities, or lessons. Last semester, I created my first website. Creating the site was very time consuming but I received positive feedback from my students and parents, and thus realized my classroom website was helpful. Many parents were informed of tests and deadlines from my classroom website because I included a simple outline of my test schedules and assignments.

Their feedback is what keeps me updated. At times I felt that no one was logging into my online gradebook or that no one was viewing my classroom website until a student approached me about having blank grades in his student account. I knew that I had to be on top of my grading and inputting students’ grades on a timely fashion.

Chapter 8: Teacher Learning (b)

QUALITY OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Unfortunately, there are only two local conferences that I have attended (since 1997) that have focused on teachers’ needs. One conference that was held several years ago for the Notre Dame schools had mini workshops for teachers and staff. The TriHigh Symposium Committee, made up of faculty and staff members from the four SSND schools, organized workshops that were geared towards every discipline. One workshop, conducted by a Catholic priest focused on the mission of Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, the foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The faculty and staff who attended Father Eric’s workshop came to a greater understanding of their ministry because he explained Mother Theresa’s life and what her intentions were to educate the children of God. Other workshops at this conference were geared towards how faculty and staff members could maintain a balanced meal during a busy day, how to incorporate the fine arts into science and math classes, or creating lesson planning.

Another beneficial conference was the BASICs sponsored conference day held in spring 2006. I was motivated by other teachers to bring technology into my classroom. I attended a Movie Maker workshop conducted by Mae Angeles and Dym San Nicolas. Naturally, I was drawn to this workshop because it entailed visual and audio components, but I was quite impressed that the presenters were math teachers. They used Movie Maker to show how their students solved certain math concepts. Their movies were exceptional. I could tell from the presentation that their students were engaged and understood the subject matter.

Indeed, educators must have more opportunities to attend workshops that are “learner-centered.” After all, “experience is the best teacher.”

Chapter 8: Teacher Learning

I probably would not have gained any interest in incorporating technology into my classroom if my husband, sister, and cousin did not share their experiences with online grade books, PowerPoint, or online lesson plans. I come from a family of teachers and although we do not have a “teacher’s lounge” at home, we often exchange ideas. The ideas we exchange have made me a more resourceful and creative teacher. Because of them, I have shared my expertise with online grade books or PowerPoint with my colleagues throughout the years.

I learn a great deal from teachers who have been teaching for two years to teachers who have their names engraved on walls of some schools. And yes, this great deal of learning on my part has stemmed from conversations in the hallway, the infamous teacher’s lounge, and at Kmart (to name a few idea exchange spots).

I appreciate that my family has encouraged me to pursue this master’s degree in instructional technology because the knowledge I have been receiving is so important for a teacher to learn in the 21^st century. I fear that my students are always going to be more knowledgeable than I am in regards to technology. I do not want technology to outpace me.

Educators must take advantage of learning opportunities. While funds to produce such educational opportunities may be tight, administrators must tap on their own faculty members’ expertise to conduct in-service workshops.

Chapter 7: Effective Teaching: Examples in History, Mathematics, and Science (a)

History teachers are amazing. And the teachers mentioned in Chapter 7 are a tough act to follow. After reading about Bar Johnson, I immediately thought of my high school U.S. History teacher, Mr. Kelley. I knew he loved history with a passion because of the conversations he initiated and entertained about the subject matter. While he may not have had as many classroom activities as the teachers described in this chapter, I always looked forward to his class because of his energetic attitude about learning history. His lectures were not boring; in fact, I even loved writing papers for his class because of his positive feedback on my papers. Of course, he did have to give us tests based on dates and events but that was important information so that I could understand his lectures. I have gathered (from Chapter 7) that when a teacher has a deep understanding of the structure and knowledge of the discipline, the students will come to an understanding and appreciation for the discipline as well (163).

Chapter 6: The Design of Learning Environment (b)

“A key environment for learning is the family (148).”

What happened to the good ol’ days when families watched television together? How many of our students can familiarize with this photo? As stated in the chapter, “television has played an increasingly prominent role in children’s development over the past 50 years.” While parents are the primary monitors of what their children watch, educators are just as responsible. Let us take advantage of the programming offered on PBS, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel. Educators can create that learner-centered approach by inviting the attitudes and beliefs that our students bring into the classroom.

Chapter 6: The Design of Learning Environment (a)

The content in Chapter 6 made me evaluate where I stand at this point in my teaching career. The chapter presented four important perspectives on learning environments: learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment centered, and community-centered. As an educator, I understand that I need to be more learner-centered so that my students will be able to “construct their own meanings, beginning with the beliefs, understandings, and cultural practices they bring into the classroom (136).” In regards to knowledge-centered environments, I am challenged to “help students become knowledgeable by learning in ways that lead to understanding and subsequent transfer (136).” In my composition II classes, I always emphasize that writing is a survival skill; without the written word, many of us would not be able to communicate with one another. Also, we may not be up-to-date with world news or knowledgeable about history if the written word was not taken seriously. In an assessment-centered environment, I am challenged to give feedback on a continual basis. As chapter 6 states, “feedback is most valuable when students have the opportunity to use it to revise their thinking as they are working on a unit or project.” Whenever my Chorus students have finished performing a certain song, they always ask me, “How did we sound?” Whatever my comments may be, they always want to do better not only to sound well, but to feel that they have achieved a goal. The community-centered environment is important as well. This section of the chapter reminded me of my four-year-old daughter’s teacher who gets my husband and I involved with “Family Projects.” My daughter is so eager to submit her project the next day because “mommy and daddy helped me.” I now realize why these family projects are so important; including families in classroom activities and planning “hold promise of bringing together two powerful systems for supporting children’s learning (149).” I truly believe that “A key environment for learning is the family (148).” Overall, this section of the chapter presented many challenges and new approaches to improve students’ learning environments.

Chapter 5: Mind and Brain (b)

Another interesting process I found from Chapter 5 is the “important role that experience plays in building the structure of the mind by modifying the structures of the brain” as well as “practice increases learning”.

In chorus, my students practice for performances numerous times a week in order to produce a perfect performance in terms of sound and timing. I involve my students in at least three to four public showings a semester. When performance time rolls around, I can definitely vouch that the countless rehearsals we have had enhanced their singing skills.

Chapter 5: Mind and Brain (a)

Chapter 5 presents many interesting processes that ultimately make up the human mind. The section which I relate to on a daily basis in my classes is that of Memory and Brain Processes where it was reported that “people’s memories for words with their memories for pictures of the same objects show a superiority effect for pictures. The superiority effect of pictures is also true if words and pictures are combined during learning.”

In chorus, I have found that when introducing music symbols, students are more able to grasp the material when I show the symbols versus when I simply write down terms.

In composition, I currently lecture along with a power point presentation. Last semester when I divided my classes into two, one with power point and one with standard lectures, I found that those in my power point classes where more engaged and attentive when words and pictures where flying across the screen. This year I use power point in all my classes in order to tap into more of their multiple intelligences (linguistic, logical, spatial, interpersonal, musical) that were presented in Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: How Children Learn (b)

More interesting topics which grabbed my attention were Dweck, Elliot, and Leggett’s two main classes of beliefs about children: entity theories and incremental theories.

I have met more incremental theorists than entity theorists. However, there are many “in betweens” who have existed throughout my years in education. Chapter 4 states that “Although most children probably fall on the continuum between the two theories and may simultaneously be incremental theorists in mathematics and entity theorists in art, the motivational factors affect their persistence, learning goals, sense of failure, and striving for success (102).” I agree with this statement and it becomes apparent to me the students who have positive motivational factors those who don’t. After reading about the entity and incremental theorists, I began to reminisce about all my students who fit such categories. I realize that incremental theorists may make me a better teacher because they are, as Chapter 4 states, the ones who seek challenges. They are the students who keep me looking for more and new ways to deliver lessons which will keep them engaged in the topic at hand. For the entity theorists that I have met, they were probably the students who I asked to encourage and assist those “incremental theorists”. Also, they were probably the ones who I comforted when they received a low “A” on a test.

I particularly find the last statement of this section so important, “Teachers can guide children to a more healthy conceptualization of their learning potential if they understand the beliefs that children bring to school (102).”

This statement reminded me of the latest movie “Freedom Writers”. If you have not already watched it, I encourage you to. (I know time is rare.) In this movie, a new teacher struggles to get her students to want to write. After witnessing several shocking events on campus and in her classroom, she realizes that she needs to approach her students differently. She later realizes that she must get to know who they are and where they come from in order to gain their trust and most especially their interest. After “understanding the beliefs” which her students brought to school, she began to reach out to them in ways that no other teacher has.

We are more motivational to our students than we think. As an English Composition teacher, journals have revealed so much about how students feel about their teachers. Their thoughts are more positive than we realize. The meanest and most demanding teacher was (as my student wrote) a favorite among one of my students. They may not tell us right after they graduate or after ten years out of high school, however, when we see how they are positively contributing to our society, I would take that as a big “thank you”. If it wasn’t for us, being those “motivational factors”, students may not be as successful as they are today.

Hats off to you! For you have one of the toughest, but most rewarding jobs in this world!

Chapter 4: How Children Learn (a)

“Although a great deal of children’s learning is self-motivated and self-directed, other people play major roles as guides in fostering the development of learning in children.”

I agree. Learning is a community effort. Working together with parents and establishing open communication with parents are essential aspects in education. More so, parents are not the only guides in fostering children’s learning. Caretakers and coaches, as chapter four mentions, are guides to fostering the development of children’s learning.

My parents were my first teachers. In fact, they are still my teachers. Without their guidance, I would not be the parent I am to my daughter and son. Every time I discipline or teach my kids something, I always think of my parents and say to myself, “So this is what mom and dad went through while raising me and my siblings.” In regards to my students, I always try to establish open communication with them and their parents. I encourage parent participation. I have noticed that my students are proud of their work when their parents have taken part in it.

“Together Everyone Achieves More”. This TEAM concept is what coaches, at least the ones I have seen and met, try to instill in their students. Many students will excel even more in a sport because the athlete looks to the coach as a role model. (Many of us may have become teachers because we were influenced by a teacher we have had in our formative years.) Club advisors are important as well. I will never forget my high school Student Council advisor. He is the reason why I am able to conduct or facilitate meetings with my colleagues without feeling nervous or intimidated. Robert’s Rules of Order was a book I had to read, not because I wanted to but because he required it. At first, I felt, “Gosh, another book to add to my senior pile of books to read.” Now, I realize why he stressed the importance of the book.

Other important tools, as mentioned in chapter four, such as cultural artifacts, television, books, videos, and technological devices can serve as guides. I only agree with this statement to an extent. We, the classroom teachers, need to channel these technological tools in the right direction. And yes, these tools are powerful guides. Nowadays, texting and mySpace.com have become such powerful forms of communication amongst teens that they are forgetting how to write and communicate properly.

As a graduate student, these courses in technology have become a positive guide for me. I am learning how to integrate technology into my lessons which will only benefit my students and their future where technology will be even more prevalent.

Chapter 3: Learning and Transfer (b)

Motivation to Learn (60)

“Social opportunities also affect motivation. Feeling that one is contributing something to others appears to be especially motivating (61).”

With the exception of journal entries, I always ask for volunteers to read their poems or paragraphs in front of the class. When my students wrote Cinquain Poems in Composition II and Chorus, they were so proud of their work when I posted it in my classroom. I noticed that some of them patted each other on the back for a job well done.

“Learners of all ages are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are learning and when they can use that information to do something that has an impact on others—especially their local community (61).”

McComs, Pintrinch, and Schunk 1996

When I read this statement, I immediately thought of NDHS’s Annual Songfest/Family Night. Songfest is the school’s biggest event. It is a tradition which calls for each class to compose an original song about their lives at Notre Dame. Students create everything for the event…the song, choreography, and props. At the end of the evening, parents and guardians witness what their children are learning at Notre Dame. They are developing their writing skills (lyrics), collaborative skills (learning about leadership in history and government classes), math skills (the value of a beat in the song), and music and physical skills (harmonizing and choreography).

The public is invited to this annual event, and every year it moves and does create an impact on those who attend. Every year I am proud of my students and all that they do to make use of what we teach them.

Chapter 3: Learning and Transfer (a)

Time to Learn (56)

“Attempts to cover too many topics too quickly may hinder learning and subsequent transfer because students (a) learn only isolated sets of facts that are not organized and connected or (b) are introduced to organizing principles that they cannot grasp because they lack enough specific knowledge to make them meaningful (58).”

I am guilty of trying my best to pack in so much information whenever classes are shortened. I love Block Scheduling at NDHS because of the 80-minute and 100-minute class sessions; however, when classes are shortened, the bell is my enemy…at times. I feel that if I do not go over the last couple of vocabulary words before the bell rings, they will be cheated out of information. What I must understand is that making concepts more meaningful for them is more important than the number of concepts I introduce.

Also, I interpreted this statement above as overbearing their memory with too many concepts may discourage them from getting interested in the next lesson.

Chapter 2: How Experts Differ from Novices (a)

Principle #3

“Experts’ knowledge cannot be reduced to sets of isolated facts or propositions but, instead, reflects contexts of applicability: that is, the knowledge is “conditionalized” on a set of circumstances (31).”

As a Composition II teacher, my role is to prepare sophomores for research writing. I have spent a great deal of time searching for creative lesson plans via the internet, building my creativity, and listening to veteran English composition teachers to ensure that I do not make the semester long course a “boring” one for my students. Fall 2006 was my first time teaching this course. While it was challenging, I have learned a great deal about my teaching style and the wants and needs of my first semester students. My biggest challenge: how do I get my students excited about writing their lengthy research paper which is due at the end of semester? Even more, how will research writing be applicable to the world they will conquer soon?

Yes, it is all about application. I always tell my students that even though they may not be future research writers or doctors who write lengthy medical journals, they may be future law enforcement officials who will need to write an investigative report that may save people’s lives. The reader of that report must understand what is going on in the investigation. Therefore, the report must be written well.

Most especially, writing is a skill that one must have for almost every profession. Nowadays, summer trainees may be required to write memorandums to employees of the company. (I know I did.) Also, even writing a simple phone message at home needs to convey the intended message to the receiver.

My first class sessions are spent reviewing the Eight Parts of Speech. Then, I delve into writing the Five Paragraphs. For every paragraph, I try to engage my students into an activity that will make them enjoy writing the paragraph. The Expository Paragraph was a hit last semester because I allowed my students to bring in the result of their paragraph which “explains a process”. We gained about five to ten pounds that week because everyone brought in their food dishes. Of course, they had to explain their process by reading their paragraphs to the class. So, this paragraph segued into the Demonstrative Paragraph. And yes, more pounds were added to our hips.

What sparked this activity, I think, may have been my mention of the famous chef Emeril as I introduced the Expository Paragraph. I told my students that either he or his writer had to have explained a process down on paper first.

Lesgold (1984) and Simon (1980) suggest that “one way to help students learn about conditions of applicability is to assign word problems that require students to use appropriate concepts and formulas (43).” I have helped my students to learn “when, where, and why to use this knowledge they are learning” about Expository Paragraphs.

In essence, I support the third principle of experts’ knowledge.

Chapter 2: How Experts Differ from Novices (b)

Principle #6

“Experts have varying levels of flexibility in their approach to new situations (31).”

“(Virtuoso experts) view assignments as opportunities to explore and expand their current levels of expertise (46).”

“Adaptive experts are able to approach new situations flexibly and to learn throughout their lifetimes…They don’t simply attempt to do the same things more efficiently; they attempt to do things better.”

I can relate to this principle. I always want to get better at what I do for my students’ sake. Maybe for my sake, as well, so that I do not get into that same routine, which will make me dread going into the classroom. In comparison to my students eight years ago, I find that the Y2K generation needs to be stimulated and challenged even more. They know more about the latest websites and technological devices than I do. I must make every attempt to keep ahead of them so that I can steer them into using the new technologies in a more constructive and stimulating way.

My new approach in my Chorus class is to try to bring in a local artist to share his or her talent with my students. This new approach has made my students more enthused about singing. When I have asked them to respond to the presentations in essay form, many of them are appreciative of the guest singer’s presence. I find that my students are more motivated to develop their talents in class and with the wider community after they have met a local artist. I attempt to find ways for students to appreciate the Fine Arts, most especially at the local level. (I must admit that it is somewhat difficult getting local musicians into the classroom because they have other full-time jobs as well.)

Chaper 1: From Speculation to Science (2)

“Schools and classrooms must be learner centered.”

I need to cultivate this attribute of learning environments that Chapter 1 has introduced. I need to stop sounding like a commander: “I need you to practice this music piece and memorize it.” “I will be introducing this new song to you.” “I am requiring you to take a survey of your family’s music tastes.” Rather, the chapter recommends that we, as “learner-centered teachers”, present material that is “challenging enough to maintain engagement, but not so difficult as to lead to discouragement.” My approach should change to “You will be practicing this music piece so that you may share your talents with the wider community. Hopefully, you will inspire someone at our performance to spread your message of peace.” I now realize that I hardly share or explain further, my objectives for each lesson. While the objectives are stated in my syllabus or in my lesson plan book, I fail to make my students understand why they do such activities or learn specific types of music. Also, I need to ask for feedback—what music they are interested in nowadays and if a particular music piece worked for them or not.

In addition to designing the classroom environment as “learner-centered”, chapter 1 presents another attribute of the learning environment which I support as well. This attribute “to provide a knowledge-centered classroom environment, attention must be given to what is taught, why it is taught, and what competence or mastery looks like,” will definitely be in my mind every time I begin a new lesson. This attribute will remind me that I must maintain a “learning with understanding” mindset to ensure that my students are able to understand and apply the lesson at hand when they leave the classroom.

I am always open to new approaches and ways to improve my delivery in the classroom. Why? I, along with my fellow colleagues, need to "develop ways to link classroom learning to other aspects of students' lives."

Chapter 1: From Speculation to Science (1)

Thankfully, I am not the same teacher I was 9 ½ years ago. I am amazed at how teaching strategies have changed throughout the years. Thank goodness it has. Interestingly, I have made a connection with the author’s statement that “the teacher must actively inquire into students’ thinking, creating classroom tasks and conditions under which students thinking can be revealed.” I can clearly remember the very first time I announced to my Chorus class that I will administer its first test of the quarter. They were shocked! “A test? I thought Chorus was supposed to be fun,” ‘Mary’ said. I now understand (nine years later) that a test really made her think twice about why she chose to be in my class. My reply, “I need to make sure that you memorize all the music terms” may have been suffice to make her want to stay in Chorus; however, when I think about that statement now, I did not make her completely understand my reason for that particular assessment. She was my “empty vessel” whom I felt compelled to fill…immediately. Yes, “the roles for assessment must be expanded beyond the traditional concept of testing (19).”

First blog

Hafa adai! I look forward to a great semester in ED 630.