Speaker Reflections

Spring 2016

Karen Teel

DATA & ASSESSMENT @ TRACE

February 10, 2016

Assessment in Math Ms. Cannon
In the brief presentation regarding how assessment drives math instruction at Trace Crossings, we
had the opportunity to look at the form for PNOA that Ms. Cannon uses to assess the students math skills.
It was interesting to see what was required of students at such an early age of Kindergarten and reviewing
what would be considered above and below these grade level requirements. I remember Ms. Cannon
sharing that the test is usually given over several sessions for younger students because it is too lengthy to
maintain their focus for a long period of time. I am curious to how teachers know when the students cannot
handle any more on the test and are no longer performing to their best ability. I suppose that wisdom will
come with experience and this yet another reason why it is so important for teachers to know their
students. With 4 achievement levels, it seems like the PNOA would very specifically identify each students
skill level overall, as well as within each skill category. The part of the discussion that was the most
meaningful to me was when Ms. Cannon explained that it is important that the teachers administer the
assessment because they know the students the best and they know where each student is for every math
area tested. She said that she does administer the test sometimes, but she prefers for individual teachers
to do it so that they can determine where each student is and what adjustments could be made in the
classroom to increase their skill levels. As a teacher, I would feel more confident entering my classroom
knowing what all of my students need to succeed, even if it meant that I have to take the time to individually
evaluate them through long assessments.
Assessment in Reading Ms. Pegouske
The information that Ms. Pegouske shared regarding the assessing program that they use at
Trace with benchmarks and running records, seemed much more complex than the common core math
assessments that they use. I thought it was extremely interesting that she mentioned that the Next Steps
program paired with guided reading helps teachers separate students into small groups according to their
strengths and weaknesses so that the teachers can truly target how they should grow. When she brought
up that part of the program included a reading interest survey, I was reminded to Early Morning
Intervention last semester and how I was able to get to know my students better through a similar type of
survey. Getting a glimpse at the students perspective on reading and school in general is extremely
beneficial for teachers to know the best ways to approach their instruction. After hearing how the portion of
the program that includes a developmental word analogic inventory goes hand-in-hand with running record
and teachers use these forms of assessments to look for patterns and natural groupings, I was able to truly
see that disaggregated data was not only used for standardized testing. As the benchmarks within the
program are given at least 3 times a year, it is evident that this program is used to monitor growth
alongside targeted instruction in intervention. I love that the teachers can know where their students are as
they are working with them and not just at the beginning and the end of the term or year.

Speaker Reflections
Spring 2016

Karen Teel

I(magination) Station Reading & Math Title I Teachers

This was the first time that I had heard about the online I Station program and I love all that I
learned about it. As it is designed with lessons, guided practice, and independent practice, it seems to be
stacked with the right support for students to grow in reading and math. With an initial assessment and
follow up assessments each month, the teachers are constantly informed about their students progress
through graphs and data. In my opinion, the best part about this program is that the monthly assessments
give teachers priority approaches to guide instruction. In reading, the program has a feature where lessons
can be printed to teach and students could also always take their chromebooks home to work at their own
pace. When students do log on at home, the program shows the teacher that they are working at home,
keeping them accountable if at-home assignments were given. Because the teachers took the time to have
a Parent Information Meeting, they are probably more likely to be on the same page in regards to providing
students with extra support outside of the classroom. I Station seems to be a well-rounded way to assess
and monitor student achievement.
Scantron/ACT Aspire Assessments Mrs. Stone
It is common knowledge that schools use standardized tests to determine where their students
are in their learning and where they might need more support. One of the ways that Trace Crossings uses
their results is through predicting how their students could perform in the future and what the next step is
to be taken for those who need additional support based on benchmark scores. I agree with Mrs. Stone
that students will just continue to make the same mistakes if they are never reviewed and corrected.
Assessments are a major telling source for schools to know where they are growing and where their
struggles are. I learned that teachers have a huge responsibility to ask a lot of questions about data like, I
wonder
, so I am going to break it down to see. I believe that as a future educator,
assessment should be perceived more as a tool instead of a task to do. I want to look for Aha! moments
and figure out exactly what my students need to be successful and reach their fullest potentials.
Assessments and data could play a huge role in communicating what my class needs to reach such goals
on a daily basis.

Speaker Reflections
Spring 2016

Karen Teel

AMSTI Pre-Service Day

February 18, 2016
During the first part of todays presentation, we learned about what AMSTI is all about. I grew up
doing AMSTI labs in school and I have done clinical work in AMSTI schools but I have never really known
much about this state initiative. Because of my experiences, I only considered labs and projects in science
as AMSTI, which is hands-on, activity-based learning. However, AMSTI is much more than just labs. It is to
bring conceptual understanding in the classroom in math as well. Hearing that the outcomes of the initiative
including improved attendance, higher comparatively test performance scores, and increased teacher
content knowledge, are all seemingly positive, I cant imagine why every school system in the state is not
on board with this program. The program seems very supportive for teachers, with specialists that meet
whatever the needs of the students are, from supplying more materials to helping teachers make gradelevel adjustments so that they know what intervention should look like specifically for their students. When
Ms. Davis and Ms. Tilley were describing their training sessions for teachers during the summer, they
shared that they use word problems so that their teachers know how their students feel. They said that
most teachers are confident in their answers until they shared them and saw differences. To me, this shows
that even teachers struggle sometimes in math. It could be a very humbling experience.
Today, we also learned that even students who know what to do need to learn how to explain their
thinking. All students can show growth through trying out new vocabulary, experimenting with forms of
argumentation, justifying, critiquing justifications, and reflecting on their own understanding as well as the
ideas of other. Each of those areas listed are necessary for students to succeed in the future as innovative
citizens in society. In the modern classroom, it is important that instruction is appropriate for ALL students.
Programs like AMSTI make this simple for teachers with learning experiences that develop many skills that
students need no matter what level they are. The engineering aspect of the program combines old
science standards with the new, more innovative standards to push students towards the main goal of
solving problems that arise from a specific need or crisis, providing them with realistic application. In order
to prepare students, Ms. Davis and Ms. Tilley shared the idea that questions are more important than the
answers. In the video that we viewed, Erno Rubik made this statement regarding the future, We may not
know what it is going to look like, but we do know who is going to do it. This statement supports this idea
of setting up students to reach their fullest potential with a well-rounded set of skills.
The big question that we addressed at the end of the presentation was What does this mean for
teachers? From what I understand about AMSTI, I can see that teachers have the responsibility to ensure
that students are in an engaging learning environment. Teachers must also push students to think and
train their brains conceptually so that they can apply what they learn in their lives. Through this process,
teachers will have to understand that there is lots of room for error as students are growing. Ms. Davis
made a profound statement from a teachers perspective that it is OUR classroom or THEIR classroom,
never MINE. One of the reasons why programs like AMSTI work is because experiences stick with you as
you learn. As students develop their own ideology, they are also engaging in meaningful learning. Closing
the presentation, Ms. Davis shared a quote that made me feel even more empowered. It concluded with,
a teacher awakens your own expectations. Yes, teachers do have to take charge to be a hero in the
classroom. They also have to lead students to become their own heroes in life.

Speaker Reflections
Spring 2016

Karen Teel

Scientific Inquiry Dr. Wall

March 16, 2016

Dr. Wall shared with us about scientific inquiry. Though he is a secondary education specialist, it
was very interesting to hear more about how skills of inquiry can be applicable for every grade, even
starting in the elementary classroom.
One of the scientific concepts that is prevalent across grade-level is scientific argument. Dr. Wall
gave us a handout with the specific parts of a scientific argument including the claim, evidence, and
justification. As he talked about each of the elements, we determined that they are all essential when
experimenting and exploring in and out of the classroom. Dr. Wall provided that the claim should just be a
simple sentence that can be tested. As the teacher, we can make claims, or the students can determine
what they think the claim should be based on their own knowledge. The claim needs to be testable,
meaning that their needs to be available evidence to prove that it is correct or incorrect. At the end of the
process of the exploration, the claim should be accepted or refuted based on the evidence found. I can see
that this gives students a purpose in what they are looking for when researching and experimenting in
science. Looking for evidence for a claim is a focused objective.
Dr. Wall described the evidence as anything that supports or opposes the claim. Evidence can be a
record of events or any other proofs from the testing. Examples of such testing include an engineering
competition for building boat structures to an investigation. He suggested that teachers be resourceful and
think outside of the box to conduct the testing by using materials that they have around them everyday.
Evidence should be recorded for accuracy. The last aspect is justification. This is when the class will justify
their results with the claim. All three of these elements are interdependent on each other to make a
credible scientific claim. It encourages inquiry through exploration.
In class, we were able to create our own claim based on a standard about buoyance and another
about a standard on forces in motion. As even we struggled to construct these at first, I thought about how
students would definitely have to be guided through this process. I think that it would be very helpful to
show students examples and model before expecting them to do this skill on their own. In our PLC, we
looked at other standards and completed the process of developing a claim, collecting evidence, and
justifying.
The biggest connection that I was able to make was how students can develop scientific skills in
elementary school that are useful throughout their education career. Learning the process of inquiry and
how to make an argument in science should help students learn to test things that they are curious about
and explore the world around them. As a teacher, I hope to provide students with the opportunity to
practice this process in the classroom. This is also a way that science can become real to them and not just
facts and definitions in a textbook. Because I believe that one of the main tenets of education is to prepare
students for the real world, I believe that teaching students to make claims, test them, find evidence, and
justify their findings is an essential practice that could be intimidating for many teachers. After practicing
today and breaking apart each of the elements in this inquiry process, I feel more confident in using
scientific inquiry in my own classroom, no matter the age because every student should be curious
explorers in the world that we live in.