Reflection

ELNG 310 Portfolio Activity Week 10

Literacy Assessment

Reflection

Why did you choose to include this activity?

I chose this activity because I believe assessment can be and should be done in many different ways throughout a semester. Students should be given many opportunities to show what they have learned. Not all people are good at writing tests and not all students are good at doing projects. If students are always given a written test some of the students who are not strong test writers will always do poorly. There should be a variety of options to choose from when students are showing what they know. Students will pick something they are interested in doing and will do a better job because they are engaged and interested. In school, I personally would have liked to use my creativity and create something, whereas other classmates would have rather written a paper. Everybody is different in the ways they learn so teachers should take that into consideration when doing assessments. This activity has strengthened my learning because I have realized not everybody has to do the same thing to show what they have learned. Assessment can be altered for all student's preferences and abilities.

What course goals does this activity connect to?

What is literacy? Literacy is a person's all-around understanding of reading, writing and the world around them. It is how a person interacts and reacts to things around them such as signs, images, conversations, etc. Literacy has many components that make up a person's literacy. Literacy in the classroom should have a variety of components and opportunities for the students.

What does it mean to see literacy as a social practice? Literacy is all around us in the world. We are constantly exploring and experiencing all kinds of things around us. As a society, we are always interacting with other through conversation or written text and this is a major part of our literacy. Literacy has many components that are involved in our social practices. Some students do not have positive literacy experiences outside of the school, so while they are in school as educators it is our job to give them many opportunities to boost their literacy skills.

What course concepts/ideas are reflected in the activity? Include citations

I have learned assessment can be done in many ways (Saskatchewan Reads, 2015). Assessment does not just have to be done by giving students a written test. There are many ways for students to show what they know. Assessment can be done by doing a project, play, orally, written or many other ways. Art can be a way of assessing what a student knows (Edutopia, 2019). Art is a visual way of reading, which connects to a person's literacy (Edutopia, 2019). By giving students choice in the way they want to show their work can be more engaging for the students. Self-assessment can be a great tool when assessing students (Saskatchewan Reads, 2015). When students are able to make personal goals for themselves they are likely to achieve them because they care about the goal they have chosen (The Balanced Literacy Diet, 2011). It allows students to identify personal areas that need growth. By setting class goals for each area it helps students have a clear understanding of what they will be learning and working on (The Balanced Literacy Diet, 2017a). Goals help with assessment because there is a clear view of what is to be learned throughout the unit. When doing assessments in the classroom there are many things that should be thought about such as who your learners are and what their needs are (Crooks, 2021). Assessment is beneficial for the students, parents and teachers to see where improvement is occurring in the student's work.

How has your thinking about the activity changed over the semester and/or what questions do you have about this activity?

Before this class, I never really thought of assessment to the extent I have now. I will try giving my students lots of choices when it comes to assessment. I know not all students are the same in what they like doing and what they are good at (Crooks, 2021). From my experiences most of the time when doing assessments all students were doing the same type of assessment at the same time. When giving the students choice, it will be a little crazier in the classroom, but the engagement with most likely be higher. When students are enjoying what they are doing they will take more away from it as well. When assessing students in the future I will remember all the ways I learned to assess in this class and use them. Assessment is very important and needs to be done in a way that is useful for students and teachers.