Week 7

This week, our lecture was asynchronous, but it remained engaging and insightful. We went over the difference between assessment and evaluation, content vs performance standards, and different assessment strategies. 

What stood out and what I learned

• Assessment

• Ongoing throughout the school day and year

• Many different methods of assessment 

• Observations

• Discussions

• Reflections

• Physical products and projects

• The gathering of information to identify strengths and weaknesses

• Used to provide students with feedback and to track progress

• Evaluation

• Usually summative (at the end of a unit or term) to gauge the outcome of student learning

• Judges the quality of work/knowledge of students

• Provide a value of success (levels/grades)

• Methods include:

• tests/quizzes

• Physical product and projects

• Presentations 

I really liked the Lucid App, which was the resource used as the activity from slide 3. I think it was really useful because it allowed students to add their thoughts on a sticky note and add it to the Venn diagram. I have never seen this before, and I will be adding it to my “teaching resources” bookmark folder. This is definitely a program that I will keep in my back pocket as I go into my teaching career. 

We also looked at how assessment and evaluation are based on content standards and performance standards.

• Content standards:  overall and specific curriculum expectations

• Performance standards:  categories outlined in the achievement chart

From this, we looked deeper into the achievement chart and its purpose. It provides a province-wide, consistent framework of all curriculum expectations and standards across grades. This can help teachers plan and design effective lessons and assessments. 

I remember hearing the term "achievement chart”, but I have not looked at it in depth. I really like how it breaks down the different categories of knowledge (knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application), and gives specific criteria of the different processes in the format of a rubric. Throughout my classes this semester, I have gotten very familiar and comfortable with rubrics, so I feel like I am able to understand them better. Also, getting familiar with the achievement chart now will help better prepare me for when I am in my own classroom and need to plan my own lessons and assessments that align effectively with curriculum expectations and provincial standards. 

Another thing I noticed about the achievement charts is that the rubric layout is only in the updated curriculum documents (grade 9). The grades 10-12 are written as a list. I like the rubric layout more because it is easier to look at, however, the list provides the same material. As mentioned before, the achievement chart provides standards across grades, so it doesn’t change. I think the updated version is a better layout and is much clearer by providing levels and criteria. 

Key Takeaways

Overall, this week’s lecture helped me deepen my understanding of how assessment and evaluation work together to support student learning. Exploring content and performance standards, especially through the Achievement Chart, gave me a clearer picture of how I can plan meaningful lessons and assessments that align with provincial expectations. 

I also discovered new tools, like the Lucid App, that I can save and bring into my future classroom. This lecture, being asynchronous, gave me ideas of how to adapt in-class activities to online formats.

 As I continue preparing to become a teacher, gaining confidence with these frameworks and resources makes me feel more equipped to create supportive, effective learning experiences for my students.