This image resonates with me because of the fact that it requires teachers and students to realize that, 'This is where I start." Even if the student struggles to see where they NEED to arrive, having them develop that recognition of the next step is the teachers task, not just helping students get to the next spot-but knowing what the next spot is.
This image/list of accommodations resonates with me the most because of an experience I had mentioned in an earlier post in which my teachers in elementary school for negligent to provide us with, assisted learner tools (manipulatives). We were not entirely denied these tools but were certainly expected to be able to mentally comprehend the math at a very early stage of the learning process.
Generic Rubrics are something that I feel can be reflective of accessible learning as well. As an English teacher, these are useful tools for assessing For and Of learning. I like to use Checkrubrics for assessment for learning. the English Curriculum of Grades 9-12 has some excellent examples of Checkrubrics and T/I;A;U;C rubrics for different types of writing.
The growing success documents are exceptionally good at introducing the different parts of assessment because of the constant myths of assessment. "The more work, the better its understood," to an extent, one could apply the 10,000 hours till expertise philosophy, but the reality is-NO student is spending 10,000 hours on one task in one class. This means teachers need to find an alternative mode of assessment. In China (where I am teaching now), parents get physically upset when their children are not sent home with homework or even homework for the holidays-granted most of the parents are never home, but still-what is the purpose of the homework if the student doesn't understand it in the first place OR understands it well.
In my opinion, homework is dead-its a vehicle of information to the parents/guardians letting them know what is happening the classroom with their child. I feel homework is not a form of assessment-especially in English because their is no way to really know it was that student's work.
Teachers are sometimes looking for ways to build marks of students-well lets mark that homework, there are two things wrong with the way this is being handled in my opinion. 1) My earlier point about homework not being used properly, and 2) Teachers are missing the fact that the number of assessments SHOULD NOT be the focus of evaluations, but the number of authentic assessments-see earlier point about English teacher's homework worries.
At this age, (I have touched on a lot) I think its most important that students get feedback and guidance. Homework as take home tasks for support from guardians is important-but not as an assessment or evaluation. Rubrics are great for providing feedback and "next steps". I think at the 7th and 8th grade levels. This is the most important time for students to be exposed to rubrics in all subjects, not math. A teacher provides good feedback, but if a student can understand how to reflect on that feedback before high school (seeing where they stand on a rubric versus where their goal is to be-ZPD), that student will be extremely successful. What I could summarize with is, assessment of learning is most important for students at the 7th and 8th grade levels at this point. Two rubrics I designed that I'll be adding into my final project are attached.
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