Chapter 3 - FIAE

Chapter 3 gave many ways to successfully teach an assessment. Some big points that I felt were important were for teachers to keep the students out of the dark, use pre assessments to show readiness in a unit, and avoid teaching fluff. By informing students of what they are going to learn they have a clearer understanding for the get go, which the teacher then builds on with each lesson. The pre assessments help show the teacher where the class is at and whether the lessons need to be changed due to the results. As a teacher, I should use this a lot. What good will it do the students if I am teaching them things they already know, or keep moving forward when they don’t understand what I covered earlier? Not much, they won’t learn as efficiently as when we are all on the same page. I think that any pre-assessments I do can be in a variety of ways. For example, in a different book I read about the exit questions. These questions let me know where the students are at. I also should be aware of how my activities affect the learning that needs to happen. Teaching “fluff” will not help my students learn the critical points that are mixed in with the fluff. I should only be teaching the students what they really need to know. And how teach them should be ways in which they really learn and grow. If I ask them to write a poem about their favorite colors, this will not benefit them any, unless I am having them practice a certain poetry style that I may have just introduced to them. I think this relates well to real life. I liked the example about the 5 paragraph essay. Some grades teach just that essay style. I still remember learning how to write a 5 paragraph essay over and over again. I did learn other styles too, but if this is the only style that is permanently impacted on the students, this will be the only style they use as adults. Authentic essays allow more points to be developed than a simple 5 paragraph essay, 3 points with intro and conclusion. If employers are looking for more authentic essays, than that is something I should teach my students as well as a 5 paragraph essay. They should understand when it is proper to use each one.