10 Sep Response to discussion 1 100 words per person

Response to discussion 1 100 words per person

Mariah

Based on “Decision Time”, if I were in Dolly’s shoes, I would revert back to the previous form of assessment. I would administer written tests for all the students at the same time. I would do this for several reasons. Firstly, allowing students to work at their own pace may be a good incentive to students to complete their work. However it is not a feasible long-term policy for all students. As is noted in “Decision Time”, students felt slighted and at a disadvantage to their peers. Also, I am curious what Dolly’s approach would have been to the timing of self-pacing and matching it to the academic calendar of her institution. For instance, I wonder what her plan of action have been if she had a high-achieving student who worked through mastery of the fourth grade curriculum at an accelerated rate and completed it well before the rest of the class. 

Secondly, in relation to a mastery learning model, suppose a student does not exhibit mastery of their chosen skill during their oral assessment administered by Dolly. According to Popham (2019), if a student were not to achieve mastery, they may be missing a subskill or enabling knowledge they may have gained through a different approach to instruction; 

“The teacher would definitely need specific diagnostic information about the building block subskills or enabling knowledge each student did or didn’t possess. Thus it is not significant for a test merely to assess students’ mastery of the overall skill being taught. There would also need to be a a sufficient number of items assessing students’ mastery of enabling knowledge or each building block subskill. Based on the diagnostic data derived from the test, a sensible set of remedial instructional activities could then be designed for the low performers” (p. 35)

If I am to grade mastery within the classroom, I need to be able to identify skill gaps appropriately so all students receive supports they need in mastery. Also assessing using a written format gives me a tangible piece of work to give feedback on to the students.

Kadeidra

The scripture reads, “Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (King James Bible, 2019, Hebrews 4:16.)

Dolly’s form of assessment is quite interesting. She allows her students to cover content by reading passages and asking questions based on their reading. This approach seems a bit contradictory to me. The first issue is measurability. According to Popham 2020, there are two forms of measurability, unitary and counterfeit coalescence. In the unitary approach, a student’s are evaluated in an all-in-one format, where several objectives are graded simultaneously. The “counterfeit coalescence” is used to organize broad curriculums by  breaking it down into several subcomponents and individually evaluated for an accurate recapitulation of the student’s mastery. Social Study is a broad subject with several sub-components. Requesting 4th-grade students to read various passages with hopes that they will understand, self-teach and test orally are demanding and unreasonable. The grain size approach is pervasive among educators, and I believe it will benefit Dolly’s students. Suppose Dolly adopts the small grain-sized curricular aims. In that case, she will teach the reading passages individually, allowing time to teach her student unfamiliar words and assist in making real-world connections to solidify learning. After covering the course content utilizing the small grain-sized system, she can use her oral exam as a semester assessment. 

Katherine

You brought up a point that I don’t think anyone has discussed before – How is a 4th grader going to determine that they feel ready to take the oral assessment?  This is a hugely valid point!!!  I can see all sorts of 4th grade reactions – those who take the assessment just to get it over with, to those who never think they are ready.  It would probably benefit Dolly to implement additional assessments along the way that would serve not only to help her identify any knowledge gaps, but would also help the students evaluate their own preparedness for the oral assessment.

Personally, I don’t think it hurts at all for the students to take an oral assessment.  I am sure that all their other assessments in all their other classes are written and the ability to express yourself orally in an organized and coherent manner is a skill that needs work and practice – it sounds like Dolly has focused on developing this skill.