This week in Woolfolk we read chapters 12, 14, and 15 each chapter had an abundance of information. In this weeks blog I will touch on a topic form each chapter.
In chapter fifteen we talked about my least favorite thing assesments. As a psychology major when I learned about school psychology and how one major responsibility is to assess students and write up reports I did not think that was something I would be interested in doing day after day. Not because I did not want to work with students but because I want to be more productive in a students well being. In chapter fifteen I learned that there are different forms of assessment p.548 Assessement is broader then testing measurement because it includes all kinds of ways to sample and observe students' skills, knowledge, and abilites (Linn & Miller, 2005). While I may not love to assess so formally I think I would apppreciate informal and observation assessment. It is just my opinion but maybe assessing is like learning styles and perhaps some testing will be adjusted to the students style and in thier best interest.
In chapter 14 we also learned about teaching approaches. This summer I will be interning at a summer camp I will have a classroom full of 1st and 2nd graders while this will not be a regular classroom we will do some basic skills combined with a fitness program. The basic skills as described in chapter fourteen p.519 is defined as clearly structured knowledge that is needed for later learning and that can be taught step by step. I will be working with underprivileged students and some ELL students and after reading the chapters throughout Woolfolk I think I am a little better prepared. Direct instruction will be a useful tool as well I think this will come into play when we are teaching fitness as well as classroom lessons. The structure will not be exactly like school but we will implememt some learning so the students do not forget everything and loose the summer months.
In chapter twelve we read about anxiety and emotions which is soemthing I have a special interst in. when i observed in Ms. Martinez's class I did see alot of anxiety but for more personal reasons due to home life. There are different types of anxeity as well as the level for each individual student. Woolfolk describes anxiety as interfering with learning and test performance at three focusing attention learning and testing p.453. I am not sure if the research described in Woolfolk is the same as it was twenty-five years ago but this information is so important, I agree with a staement on p. 452 that in the past anxiety and emotions were generally overlooked in research on learning and motivation. I think with the acception of severe cases setting goals can really help students see an end and not feel so overwhelmed with emotion and anxiety.
I feel that this book is a great resource I will always refer back to if I decide to become a school psycholgist or work with children in general.
Rosa, in education formative assessment is seen as increasingly more important. Teachers have to know where their students are so they can meet their needs. They can't do this if they don't continually assess and then design instruction based on these formative assessments.
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