What role do you see assessment being played in the classroom? Does understanding how students think help you prepare for your role are a teacher? How will you use this information to shape your practice?
In this classroom, I see the role of assessment as a way of being successful in life. Ms. Krabapple says to Bart, to stop bothering other students in the class because they have a chance of being successful in class. Some students have a similar belief that tests scores are correlated with success. In this clip, Bart takes Martin's test and writes his name on it because he doesn't understand the questions and wants to look like he can do the test. With this in mind, it is important to emphasize with students that doing poorly on a test, or not having an understanding of a particular concept in math does not reflect failure. Ms. Krabbapple also does not present herself as an approachable teacher which makes it difficult for students to ask for help without feeling stupid.
In my future classroom, I want to make it clear to students that it is okay if they do not understand something, but it is very important for them to ask questions to clarify their confusion of that is the case. Students need to feel safe and respected in order to ask for help. I also think it is important to emphasize conceptual understanding in the classroom so students understand the reasoning behind their work.
Hi Cera,
ReplyDeleteNice observation here. Testing (performance) is correlated with success in the class and many students also believe their achievement reflects their intelligence. That is why some students might drop out or give up when they feel they can no longer fit in to the school culture. Changes students view of themselves and their intelligence does take a classroom culture that is supportive, caring and responsive to their needs.