Formative assessment is a proven technique for improving student learning, and the strategies shared here by Jay McTighe work both in the classroom and remotely.

1. SIGNAL IT

Ask students to display a designated hand signal to indicate their degree of confidence in their understanding of a concept, principle, or process. For example:

• Thumbs up: I understand _____ and can explain it in my own words.
• Wave hand: I’m not completely sure about _____ and doubt I could explain it.
• Thumbs down: I don’t yet understand _____ and cannot explain it.

Self-assessment and self-reporting can be unreliable, so use a random calling technique to periodically select students with their thumbs up (e.g., pull names out of a bowl) and ask them to explain.

In virtual learning environments, students can signal on camera or post designated emojis to signal their understanding levels.

2. CHOOSE IT

Present students with a few binary-choice statements or questions containing an understanding or a common misconception and have them select a response (e.g., True or False, Agree or Disagree) and share it via a whiteboard, cell phone app, or hand signal (e.g., thumbs up or down). This efficient technique is particularly effective to use in checking students’ prior knowledge or potential misconceptions before beginning new instruction.

Here are a couple of “choosing” formats with examples:

• True/False: When dropped from the same height, a bowling ball will land before a marble.
• Agree/Disagree: Is this an example of alliteration?

In virtual learning environments, students can use the chat box feature to record their choices, or respond to a poll.

3. PICTURE IT

Visual representations, such as graphic organizers and concept maps, are widely used to enhance learning, and can also be used as formative assessments. Have students create a visual or symbolic representation (e.g., a graphic organizer, web, or concept map) of information and abstract concepts and then be prepared to explain their graphic. Picturing techniques are especially useful to see if students understand how various concepts or elements of a process are related.

Examples:

• Draw a visual web of factors affecting plant growth.
• Develop a concept map to illustrate how a bill becomes a law.
• Create a story map or sequence diagram showing the major events in the story.

In virtual learning environments, students can post their visuals on a Google slide or Pinterest board, or in Nearpod or Jamboard.

We’ve all heard about the benefits of learning to read quietly and independently. A big part of learning at school is all about reading, but it’s not always easy to find time for more reading at home.

Families have busy schedules filled with after-school activities and homework. Plus — let’s be honest — with all the tech at kids’ fingertips and school days already filled with required reading, it can be hard convincing kids that reading isn’t a chore.

But Keisha Siriboe says there is a way, and it doesn’t have to be independent or quiet! Her solution: reading aloud as a family.

Reading aloud is the best bang for your buck, Siriboe says, adding that she hasn’t seen anything yet that gives a higher return on investment.

The emotional benefits of reading aloud

Reading with your child is a practice that creates space for deeper independent learning and exploring. It doesn’t matter if it’s a traditional book, graphic novel, non-fiction or historical fiction, it all counts. What matters most is taking the time to dive deeper.

Use reading aloud to start conversations that can help your child deal with the now of wherever we are in the world. It could lead to something you may not have expected. For example, when it comes to anxiety and worry, a caregiver could use a picture book that specifically deals with that topic and turn that into an opportunity for a child to share what worries they are carrying.

Reading aloud is one of the few spaces that checks all the boxes in terms of social, emotional and mental health. For Siriboe, the simple act of sharing your love of reading with your child is bigger than just literacy. It’s another expression of love and a tool for helping kids navigate the world.

Talk, read, play and sing

Talk. She says take a moment to talk about the subject matter of the book, comic or recipe with your kids. If the book you’re going to read is about wellness or meditation, you may want to share some of your favorite breathing exercises or ask your kiddo what coping skills they may have learned at school.

The next component is to read. Start looking at the words, finding the characters, settings and storyline of the book. Explore how the characters in the story engage with each other and their environment.

Then play. Perhaps you and your child want to role-play some scenarios of what the character is experiencing in the real world or explore what it would be like to live inside the character’s world.

The last thing is to sing. Come up with your own song or use some online resources to find some silly songs that can help you bring a story to life. Siriboe emphasizes that this whole experience should be filled with joy and laughter.

The goal is to go past the idea of phonetics alone and really think about bonding with your child. That may mean the child gets to lead instead of the adult. At the end of the day, both the caregiver and child should hopefully be having fun.

The benefits of reading aloud for neurodiverse learners

It’s important to remember that every child learns differently. Siriboe says parents may need to think outside the pages of a book to connect and help a neurodiverse child thrive. Allowing kids who learn differently opportunities to experience success within literacy can help build confidence and spark that fire for reading and storytelling.

Every child needs to discover what they like and who they are in the world of a story. If you have a child who loves to paint, you can take them to the museum and have them write down the artists that mean the most to them. Siriboe says the next step is to go to a local library and find books about the art that inspires them and give them a chance to create their version of that art.

Helping kids who may not take to reading

Not everyone takes to reading right away, and many kids struggle. Siriboe says parents need to know that it is probably safe to assume that a kid who doesn’t love reading has probably had a negative experience.

The first thing parents can do is help their kiddo shift their perspective. She says helping kids move from a fixed mindset about what they think their reading ability is into a growth mindset is a good starting place.

Help reassure your kid that they may not be the great reader they aspire to be yet, but they absolutely can do this. One way to do this is to incorporate aural storytelling into the fold. Invite your child to create a story that you, the adult, are willing to write down or help them use a computer or smartphone app that can do it for them while they speak. Siriboe says this helps kids to form a bridge from the inconceivable to the I can do this!

Take the step to start

It’s not about how well you read or even what you read. What Siriboe wants families everywhere to know is the act of starting to read aloud and making it part of your routine for 15 minutes a day is what matters most.

Listen to the audio version of this story at the top of this page for more tips from Keisha Siriboe and get insights into what she has learned in her research.

Reference: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041859001/reading-aloud-benefits-childrens-literacy?fbclid=IwAR3DjNlIznuNBLDRNeE7iAk2EXf_17KbyTze5aUVlQWbAvTUUVoVZkH2JAg

What do you think about implenting technology into classroom? How too much technology too soon can impede students’ learning? This is always a fervid debate among educators and parents. What do you think?

Since the pandemic, most schools have been utilizing technology more than ever to reach and teach students digitally. In fact, without technology, schools would not have been able to function outside the traditional classroom when shutdowns and school closures changed everything.

Considering technology has kept us afloat for the last 18 months, it might seem counterintuitive to talk about dialing it back now. But it’s precisely because we have become so technology-dependent and digitally overloaded that American education should re-examine its role in the classroom–particularly in the younger grades.

America tends to have a “the sooner the better” approach to education. This is certainly true with technology. Since we want our students to be digitally literate by the time they graduate from high school, it only stands to reason that we put iPads in the hands of kindergarteners.

Or does it?

As a high school and middle school teacher, I would argue that the more technology-free learning we can give younger students, the better prepared they will be to learn in high school and beyond. Here’s how too much technology too soon can impede students’ learning.

1. Technology dulls the senses.

When young children are given a steady diet of digital learning with all the animation, flashing lights, bells, whistles, and instant rewards, they can become dulled to “regular” learning. No matter how animated or engaging the teacher, it’s tough to compete with a cartoon hippo or an animated wizard.

Some argue that since many kindergarteners are already hooked on screens, this is the only way schools can engage them. This is a dangerous notion. While educating children who have had iPads practically since birth is challenging, our students’ over-dependence on electronics is another reason to limit it. Giving digitally-dependent children more screen time only increases their dependence on digital stimulation. This makes it harder for them to focus. By using technology to engage kids who are hooked on technology, we exacerbate the problem and perpetuate the cycle of indifference toward other forms of learning.

2. Technology is addictive.

Some children are overly dependent on technology. Others are downright addicted. As with drugs, our brains receive a dopamine response from things like reaching the next level in a video game or receiving LIKES on social media. And while it’s unlikely that a few rounds of Kahoot will lead to addiction, many educational games and learning tools operate on the same principle of instant reward.

The satisfaction and intrinsic reward of finishing a book, writing a sound paragraph, or solving a math problem pale by comparison to getting the top score in a video game (even an educational one). The brain doesn’t receive the same little high that it does from many forms of electronic learning. This isn’t to say teachers should never use games to teach and review material. But if we want to keep kids plugged into non-digital learning, technology should be an occasional treat rather than a routine staple.

3. Technology inhibits the formation of good habits.

Even less flashy forms of technology like Google Docs and Microsoft Word have taken their toll on learning. Studies show that both children and adults learn and remember more when they write by hand. That alone should be enough for us to limit the amount of time young children spend working at a keyboard. But another problem with doing work digitally rather than by hand is that makes kids inattentive to their own work.

Ask anyone who teaches older students, and she will tell you. Middle and high school students have handwriting that looks like that of second-graders. They lack awareness of basic sentence structure, and they often ignore rules for capitalization and punctuation. We have created an over-dependence on technology at the expense of foundational skills. Students learn the rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling, but they don’t really have to commit them to memory. They don’t have to form the habit of following these rules. Kids don’t know how to write well because the computer does half the work for them.

Too much computer work prevents students from learning the importance and habit of attention to detail. People who used to handwrite assignments or use typewriters paid attention while writing to avoid having to erase or deal with White Out. We were less inclined to rush–because we didn’t want to mess up. Because computer work doesn’t require the same attention to detail as handwritten work, many of our students have developed lazy habits that carry over into other areas of learning.

Should elementary students know how to use a keyboard and create digital documents? Probably. But this should not be the primary tool they use for writing or working on other assignments.

4. Technology can limit creativity.

There are a lot of cool apps, programs, and games that allow children to make fun things digitally. But these are not a replacement for glue, scissors, paint, and all the other hands-on joys of childhood. Art should have texture and smell and make a bit of a mess.

Like other forms of digital learning, children like graphic design because of its ease of use and instant gratification. After all, it’s often more difficult for young children to create something impressive with a paintbrush than it is with a computer program. Too much experience with graphic design is likely to make some children impatient with the creative process.

5. The risk of distraction and abuse is too great.

Keeping students on track while they are at the computers will always be a problem, whether they are 5 or 25. Some argue students should learn at a young age to focus on the task at hand while learning and working online. But it makes more sense to teach students to work hard and stay focused offline before putting the powerful temptation of the internet in front of them. Teachers in upper grades know that more technology does not make students immune to distractions. It only makes them better at getting past the safeguards.

6. Technology in the classroom is first and foremost about money.

Ed-tech companies, not the best interest of students, have been the driving force behind the use of technology in the classroom. According to this 2016 article in TIME, there is little reason to believe that technology is the key to student success, but plenty of evidence that points to the harm that too much technology and overstimulation can have on children.

We live in a digital world, and technology is here to stay. We can’t and shouldn’t completely shelter our students from it. But what if during the elementary years, we kept technology to a minimum? What if school was a place where students got a break from digital dependence instead of a place where that dependence was reinforced? And what if our students spent their childhoods developing good habits and healthy attention spans, relatively free (at least during the school day) from the draw and distraction of the internet? What if screens didn’t dominate their days?

If we limited screen time in elementary schools, the 6 years between 7th and 12th grade would be plenty of time for students to learn to navigate the digital world. When it comes to technology, the “the sooner the better” approach is doing our children a huge disservice.

Reference: https://www.boredteachers.com/post/too-much-technology-students-learning?fbclid=IwAR2_aTzyhVGR0-FdUZ29vXFH5kfyV4f0GZK2R0UE_n8cmueqm2DC2_j-raY

Miss USA 2016 Deshauna Barber explains in this powerful speech how she was suddenly approached by a Target customer who changed her life forever…

Never GIVE UP! KEEP TRYING! Do not fell failure, but please be terrified of regret.