Reflection
Journal #8
Instructional Objectives
An
instructional objective is a concept, and this concept is what students are
expected to learn throughout the unit. The
objective is written in to show how it will be measured. When writing an objective, it should be in
the format of condition, performance, and then criterion. The condition is the state in which the
students will assessed, and the performance indicates what they will be able to
do. Last the criterion states what would
be considered success (Slavin, 2018).
Sometimes, it is not specific like the correct number of problems but vague
when it is a writing lesson objective.
When this happens, the criterion still needs to be written as specific
as possible.
When
writing an objective, it should be modified to the content that is being taught
(Slavin, 2018). Some content does not
allow the objective to be written as specific as others. For example, in a math objective, the math
teacher may write “given 10 problems involving addition of two fractions with
like denominators, students will solve at least 9 correctly” while an English
teacher may write an objective that states a student will write a compare and
contrast essay (Slavin, 2018, p. 341).
With a more general objective, students are able to be more flexible in
their writing and can “promote comprehension” instead of simply stating facts
(Slavin, 2018, p. 341). In writing,
educators want students to express themselves.
If there is a specific learning objective, the students lose the ability
to express him or herself and to show how they understand
the subject.
When
planning, a teacher must think about the skills that a student needs to use in
performing a task. From there, the
skills can be categorized as subskills (Slavin, 2018). In order to create the subskills, the teacher
must break down the tasks or objectives.
This is called task analysis. The
first step is identifying what the students know. The next step is the component; what do
students need to be taught to be successful with the main objective? Last, the subskills are assembled into the process. When writing objectives, the teacher should
think of the end product and work backwards to write the specific instructional
objectives.
While
instructional objectives are goals written in way of how they are measured, the
objectives are linked to assessments.
Assessments can be a quiz, test, essay, project, or other projects
(Slavin, 2018). Slavin states “teaching
should be closely linked to instructional objectives, and both should clearly
relate to assessment” (Slavin, 2018, p. 345).
The purpose of the teaching and instructional objectives is for a
student to learn and without an assessment the teacher does not know what the
student learned. As mentioned before, in
order to ensure that the objectives align with the assessment is to write the
assessment or end product first.
When
writing objectives and assessments, it is critical to consider the various
levels of understanding. One must assess
the student on these levels using Bloom’s Taxonomy. As educators, we want the students to think
critically, but if we only ask questions where students have to repeat
information, that does not prove that they have learned anything. The students have memorized the
information. That is where using Bloom’s
Taxonomy is important. The levels of Bloom’s
Taxonomy go from simple to complex with evaluation at the bottom. This can be a compare and contrast
assignment. In order to truly know if a
student has learned the material, he or she must be assessed using different
levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Evaluation
Assessments
and evaluations are used to measure student performance (Slavin, 2018). Evaluations can be quizzes, tests, grades,
and essays. Usually the evaluation only
focuses on academics, but at younger ages, it can focus on behaviors. The purpose of evaluations is to provide
feedback to students and teachers, gives information to parents, gives
accountability, and is an incentive for students to perform better. When using assessments to give feedback to
students, it allows students to know their results. The students may realize that they need to
study more to prepare for a test, not waste time writing an essay, or focus
more on content for a project or essay. Teachers
receive feedback as well from evaluations.
If everyone fails a test, the teacher either did not teach the material effectively,
or the test is written to be confusing.
By using assessments as feedback, teachers know what needs to be
retaught and which student is having problems with a specific concept.
Even
though the evaluations can be used as feedback for teachers and students, it is
used for information for parents. The
students’ parents can see how their child is performing academically. For selection, the school or teacher can see what
classes or groups a student needs to be placed.
As for accountability, test scores can be used for teacher or principal
reviews at the end of the year. Finally,
the assessments can be used to motivate a student to work harder.
While
assessments can be quizzes, tests, etc., there are several types of
evaluations. The first is a formative assessment. A formative assessment provides input to a
teacher on what the student has learned (Slavin, 2018). It is an informal assessment. It can be as simple as a thumbs up or down
for understanding, a ticket out the door, or listening to students while working
in groups. A summative assessment is a
test that take place at the end of a unit.
Norm-referenced assessments compares a student’s results to other students. The comparison can be within the school,
state, or country, and criterion-references assessments assesses mastery of skills
no matter how another student performs in the same area.
Even
though assessments are used as incentive and feedback, it may not motivate a
student to be more successful. Some
students may feel the need to give up because they do not understand the
material, or it is too hard for them (Slavin, 2018). Slavin suggests using grades for feedback. A short five question quiz will give students
immediate feedback on well they are learning.
Teachers can use those short quizzes to evaluate his or her teaching and
what needs to be retaught.
Tests
Achievement
tests should closely align with the learning objectives and represent learning
tasks (Slavin, 2018). These tests should
include test items that will measure the learning outcome. For instance, in math, the students should
solve the problem instead of a matching question. The achievement tests should also be reliable
and improve learning. There should be a
purpose behind a test.
When
writing a test, a teacher should write a list of what was taught, levels from
Bloom’s Taxonomy, and objectives to align with the test (Slavin, 2018). After the list is created, the teacher should
check the test to ensure that it hits every point. There are several types of questions to
include on a test. The first is a
select-response; there are multiple choice, true/false, and matching. These types of questions are right or
wrong. When writing a multiple-choice question,
the correct answer should not include distractors to try to trip the student up
and should include plausible answers. True/false
questions should be used rarely since students have a 50% chance of getting it right. When writing matching questions, students
should be able to reuse items in one list to help maintain engagement.
Another
form of test question is constructed response.
This can be fill in the blanks, short essay, and long essay. In fill in the blank, students must know the
answer. However, competition items can
help a student because it lowers the risk of getting a zero for the question. In short essay questions, the student may
have to write a paragraph while a long essay will need to be several
paragraphs. Even though the length
requirement is different, both methods are similar in grading (Slavin, 2018). When writing an essay question, the teacher
should state the length requirement, the specific topic, number of arguments,
and what the student should explain. Without
the specifics, the student may not answer correcting and not earn points if the
task was not written with ambiguity.
The
last type of test question is problem-solving.
This type of question “requires students to organize, select, and apply
complex procedures” (Slavin, 2018, p. 364).
Students work should be assessed at each step. By doing so, the student can see where he or
she made a mistake and can correct it in the future. Even though all these types of questions are
used in school, there are testing alternatives that make the students use the
skills learned. This can be a portfolio,
writing for a true audience, etc. The
portfolio is a sample of a student’s work over a period of time. This could be each year during high school or
longer. It can include essays or other
types of writing assignments. Another
type of alternative assessment is a performance assessment. This type of assessment can be an oral
project, interviews, or an experiment. While
performance assessments are great, they are still unable to truly know what the
students learned.
Grades
In upper elementary school and secondary schools,
teachers use letter grades, and younger grades will assess effort or behavior
as well. The criteria for grades are set
by the school district. For instance, an
English class must have at least six classwork assignments, three quizzes, and
three tests. However, it is up to the
teacher how to grade the assignments. Slavin
mentions letter grades A, B, C, D, and F, but most school districts do not use
a D anymore. Now anything under 70 is a
failing grade. Students may pass quizzes
or tests by guessing. This is not evaluating
what a student has learned.
In other terms, teachers can grade on the curve. Although this style of grading is seen less
often, it still exists. When grading on
a curve, the grade can be raised.
Students who may have failed originally, may have passed the assessment
after it was graded on a curve. The
downside of grading on a curve is the competition between students, and how it
can affect their relationships with their peers. Another way to grade assessments is
performance grading. Students are graded
to a rubric. Students can earn a set point
amount for beginner, proficient, and advanced.
No matter the grading method, a report card grade should not be unexpected. By giving proper feedback, a student can have
an idea of what his or her grade will be at the end of the term.
Reflection
Even though Slavin uses the term backward planning as a
way to connect instructional objectives to assessments, I have always heard the
term unpacking the standards. I believe
both terms are similar. They are linking
the standards and objectives to the assessments. I think either method is a great addition to
a classroom. By using either method, a
teacher can ensure that they are teaching the standards and assessing what the
students have been taught.
In addition to using backward planning, it is important
when assessing students to use Bloom’s Taxonomy. By using Bloom’s Taxonomy, the teacher can
assess the students on different levels and know what the students learned
instead of memorized for the test. Also,
tests should consist of different types of questions. Giving a student a quiz or test with all true
or false questions is not giving the student a fair chance.
Also, when assigning an essay, it is best to be specific
as possible. When there is a requirement,
the teacher should state exactly what he or she wants students to produce in
the final product. If you want three
examples of causes for the flu, then specify that on the instructions, so
students know what is needed in the essay.
In my experience as a graduate school student, assignments without
specific instructions is very frustrating.
It is hard to complete an assignment when I am not sure what the outcome
should look like. As a teacher, I create
assignments with specific expectations, so my students know exactly what needs
to be done for the project or essay.
As for grading, I have to assign students so many
classwork assignments, quizzes, tests/essays/projects each term. I assign more than required, so students have
plenty of opportunities to raise a grade if needed. Also, I am open to letting a student complete
an extra credit assignment if all other assignments have been completed. If there is a missed assignment, I allow the
student to complete the assignment. Not
only is making sure students are learning, but a teacher needs to keep in mind
that not all students are test takers. I
am someone who has testing anxiety, and I realize that students may as
well.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. NY, NY: Pearson. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
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