What is it? Component D focuses on the use of assessments in instruction. What this means is that assessments are now seen as a fundamental part within instruction. In schools everywhere teachers are being encouraged to focus on assessments as a means of improving explanation and furthering growth. This component emphasizes that assessments should be mixed throughout teaching rather than thrown in at the end. Why do we need it? We need this component because education is constantly changing and gone are the days when a test signaled the end of instruction. Testing and assessments are very much a part of instruction now with teachers using them to monitor student progress and even monitor their own teaching. Having this component in the Danielson Framework reminds educators that it is not enough to teach for a test. That is not what education is. Education is teaching in order to grow the knowledge of others and tests are merely a tool used to see if we succeeded in the growing of our student's knowledge base.
What are the elements? Four elements make up component D of Domain 3. The first element focuses on assessment criteria. All that this is saying is that it is important that students know the information and standards for which they will be evaluated. The next element is all about the monitoring of student learning. It is key for a teacher to be able to monitor the progress that individual/groups are making in the curriculum. The third element centers on providing feedback to students. It is essential for students to know how they are doing that way they can make necessary adjustments to improve their learning. In order for this to take place teachers need to provide consistent, high quality feedback and in a timely fashion. The last element targets student self-assessment and monitoring of progress. A key part factor in successful growth is making sure that students are able assess and monitor their own work. However, this cannot happen unless students have been taught the necessary skills. Educators are responsible for teaching these skills and providing clear criteria on all assignments.
What does implementation look like? Element 1: Educators can use Canva as a tool to create rubrics that can be printed out or emailed to students. Canva can also be used to create a class poster detailing specific requirements for a project. Canva is great because the website makes it easy to embed the document so it could even be uploaded to Office 365 if the class has a Microsoft team.
Element 2: In order to monitor student learning teachers can give several smaller assessments more frequently before the final, end of lesson, test. This can be done in order to determine if every student is grasping the information. Tools like Kahoot or Quizezz are excellent in helping teachers track student learning. They allow for educators to see the results of the whole class as well as individual students and some even provide summaries at the end that inform teachers of frequently missed questions.
Element 3: The website Vocaroo is an great resource for teachers and students. Once on the page a teacher can record feedback regarding projects or assignments. Then the teacher can easily save the voice recording as a QR code that can be printed out and given to students. The students are then able to scan the codes and receive feedback as if they were having a one on one meeting with the teacher. Element 4: Educators can help teach students the skills of self-assessment by having them complete peer-review activities. Many schools have begun posting student grades online for them to access. This enables students to monitor their progress but is is still important that they learn in class how to evaluate their work. Teachers can teach students how to create check-lists for assignments so that they can track their progress while making sure they are not missing anything.
Sources: Danielson Group » The Framework. (2017). Danielsongroup.org. Retrieved 21 September 2017, from http://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/
Kahoot for Math Facts?. (2014). Ms Herbert's Classroom Blog. Retrieved 10 November 2017, from https://msherbertsclassroom.com/2014/10/02/kahoot-for-math-facts/