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Task 1 - Blog: Choosing to Work in the Open
Task 1 - Blog: Choosing to Work in the Open
Respond to the essential question as a blog post either in the open or as a private blog. Essential Question: What is test bias, how does it impact students and how might I control for this bias?
Respond to the essential question as a blog post either in the open or as a private blog. Essential Question: What is test bias, how does it impact students and how might I control for this bias?
Test Bias
Test Bias
What is test bias?
What is test bias?
Test bias systematically disadvantages certain groups of students over others (Great Schools Partnership, 2012). Cultural bias applies when a given test may be inappropriate for a certain audience as it does not test student’s actual knowledge of a taught subject or includes details tied to a culture that a student is unfamiliar with (Sosa, 2019). Bias may present itself in many forms such as gender bias, bias on the basis of ability, and language discrimination. Some categories of test bias include construct-validity with regard to the test accurately measuring what it was designed to measure, content-validity as a test may be harder for one group of students than it is for another and predictive validity bias where a test may predict how well a group of students (Great Schools Partnership, 2012). One example is of a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) which referred to a “regatta: in an analogy. While many of the Caucasian students knew what the word meant, many African American students did not (Kim & Zabelina, 2015).
How does it impact students?
How does it impact students?
The most evident impact is that test bias provides an unfair advantage to some students as they are favored over others. As a result, other students are disadvantaged. Students may have their opportunities limited on the basis of unfair standardized examinations. One such example is the Academic Literacy Skills Assessment (ALST) which was required for teachers in New York City to receive their teaching accreditation. In March 2017, it was reported that black and Hispanic candidates were passing the test at a significantly lower rate than white applicants (Taylor, 2015). Applicants who graduated 4 year accredited teacher training programs may have been disqualified from receiving accreditation until they were able to pass the ALST. A lifetime investment in their learning was jeopardized because of a test with questions believed to favor a group of applicants over the other.
How might I control for bias?
How might I control for bias?
In order to control for bias, there are a few things that I can do. I can maintain expectations for all students and be mindful when providing students access to special programs and opportunities (Kim & Zabelina, 2015). With regards to testing, it is suggested that teachers familiarize themselves with common phrasings of test questions and to be more aware of the various linguistic patterns of the many ethnic/cultural groups represented by the students in their classroom (Kim & Zabelina, 2015). Some other options are to provide Alternative Assessments and Group Projects. Providing students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate the understandings that have been taught in a culturally relevant and authentic manner.
You Decide
You Decide
Below is an excerpt from the last assessment I had to administer to my 5th Grade Self Contained Special Education class with English Language Learners. We have been learning about the rainforest. Their task is to identify metaphors and similes from this excerpt.
Part of effective reading is comprehension. In order to identify metaphors and similes, one must understand the text. Here is the task, based upon this excerpt can you determine the the name of the tree on the image on this page. How easy or challenging might a 5th grader find this passage in the absence of an illustration?
“We drifted and paddled down the swirling brown current, through the vivid rain-drenched green of the tropic forest. The trees leaned over the river from both banks. There were many kinds of palms. One type was the burity with stiff fronds like enormous fans, and another was called the bacaba, with very long, gracefully curving fronds. In places the palms stood close together, towering and slender. Their stems made a stately colonnade. Their fronds were an arched fretwork against the sky. Butterflies of many hues fluttered over the river. The day was overcast, with showers of rain. When the sun broke through rifts in the clouds, his shafts turned the whole forest to gold.”
1. Part A
In the paragraph above, circle one simile. (RL.5.4)
Part B
What two things are being compared in the simile you chose? (RL.5.4, L.5.5a)
2. Part A
In the paragraph above, underline one metaphor. (RL.5.4)
Part B
What two things are being compared in the metaphor you chose? (RL.5.4, L.5.5a)
Glossary
palms: a group of tropical plants
frond: a long leaf with many small divisions
colonnade: a row of columns usually holding up a roof
fretwork: patterns or decoration on a surface made by cutting into or through a surface
arch: something that has a curved shape
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
(EL Education, 2018)
What are your thoughts? Here are my concerns...
What are your thoughts? Here are my concerns...
While students have an understanding of metaphors and similes that met expectations, I was concerned that they did not have adequate background knowledge to understand the items that were being compared in the metaphor. Consequently, I did not think that they would have an adequate explanation for part B of each question.
A glossary was provided for student reference. Another concern I had was the necessity for students to employ multiple cognitive process to decode and synthesize the information in order to answer the question.
After much discussion with my peers including our ENL teacher we decided to pre-load the vocabulary from the passage to maintain the integrity of the assessment but to provide students with fair access to the test. The excerpts Lexile level is 870 which is 300 levels above the median Lexile level in my class.
References
EL Education. (2013-2018). Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing Literary Texts. Retrieved February 2019, from EL Education Curriculum: https://curriculum.eleducation.org/curriculum/ela/grade-5/module-2/unit-2/lesson-4Great Schools Partnership. (2012, May 22). Test bias. Retrieved February 2019, from The glossary of education reform: https://www.edglossary.org/test-bias/
Kim, K. Zabelina, D. (2015, November 2). Cultural bias in assessment: can creativity assessment help? International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 6(2), 129-148.
Sosa, K. (2019). A look at cultural bias in testing and how to prevent it: students assessment tools & principles. Retrieved February 2019, from Bright Hub Education: https://www.brighthubeducation.com/student-assessment-tools/65699-standardized-testing-and-cultural-bias/
Taylor, K. (2015, April 7). Questions of bias are raised about a teacher's exam in New York. The New York Times.
Task 1 - Reflection - Initial Blog Entry
Task 1 - Reflection - Initial Blog Entry
For an educator, working in the open presents the opportunity to collaborate on a global level and to share best practices. For instance, my school district has a technology Facebook group where we can share the newest technologies and best practices. However, there also arise concerns of educators maintaining their professionalism as not to allow questions of their character or to jeopardize their careers. While there are hundreds of excellent examples of the capacity of educators working in the open to collaborate, more notable are the educators whose personal opinions collided with their ability to perform their abilities with professionalism and decorum.
When deciding to share this post in the open several factors were considered. It is my professional responsibility to always maintain the confidentiality of my students while being transparent about the nature of my responsibilities as a special education teacher to meet both the needs of my students while maintaining the integrity of the curriculum.
Test bias is an important topic because testing has increased in our education system. According to TopEducationDegrees.org, "The high stakes and high costs [of tests] have parents and educators wondering if we're focused too much on testing and not enough on teaching (topeducationdegrees.org, 2017). Since No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2001, the role of testing has been tied to promotional criteria in an effort to ensure that students were adequately equipped with the necessary literacy and math skills to be successful in the next grade. However, the structure and content of the text may alienate the very students who the test was designed to measure. As highlighted in the example above, was the selected passage necessarily the best passage to measure the skill that the students have been taught. Regardless of ability level of the students, if they are asked to employ an additional reading skill such as referring to a glossary and they have not had experience doing so before, how does adding this skill impede or enhance their ability to identify a metaphor or simile?
Task 2 - Mini Action Research
Task 2 - Mini Action Research
Decide on a multimedia technology to incorporate into your classroom. Use a multimedia tool that you have never used before. Describe the benefits and how it will be used to support instruction.
Task 2 - Reflection
Task 2 - Reflection
Utilizing Google Slides in the classroom was successful as it provided a way to organize information. I was able to create hyperlinks for students to immediately access vocabulary that they were unfamiliar with. We used Google Slides to organize an essay. While, I have access to many of the same features in Google Docs as I do in Google Slides, I chose Slides for this task because I did not wan to overwhelm students with too much information on one page. On the other hand, it took a few interactions for students to understand that their essay development was decomposed. I look forward to the continued use of Google Slides in the classroom. The students like the flexibility and accessibility that Google Slides provides.
Task 3 - Gamestar Mechanic
Task 3 - Gamestar Mechanic
Determine what it takes to be a game designer. How can we engage our students in education which includes multimedia without turning the experience into "chocolate covered broccoli." In other words, how do we provide authentic and engaging opportunities to learn.
Task 3 - Gamestar Mechanic Reflection
Task 3 - Gamestar Mechanic Reflection
This task was a task of perseverance. It is sometimes challenging to put yourself in your students shoes. Additionally, as an educator, it is a challenge to invest a considerable amount of time playing video games. The Gamestar Mechanic Quest embeds authentic game design principles while teaching the student to develop and design a meaningful video game. Needless to say that I was addicted, but I also saw real value in the possibility for the game to help teach my students how to develop a comprehensive first person narrative likening this task to mimicking a game like the Legend of Zelda.
Task 4 - Develop a lesson plan which incorporates Gamestar Mechanic
Task 4 - Develop a lesson plan which incorporates Gamestar Mechanic
Incorporate Gamestar Mechanic into a current lesson that you will teach.
Task 4 Reflection
Task 4 Reflection
Teaching narrative writing to 5th and 6th graders can be very exciting, particularly when students are sharing their own experiences. For this curriculum, however, this was not the case. This curriculum required students to read an excerpt from a text, The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Lasky. Students had to choose to be one of the characters and then recreate their experience. I struggles for weeks trying to figure out how to make this learning meaningful for their students. I spoke with my colleagues who taught the lesson before me and I did not get a lot of positive feedback. Many of the teachers reported that the students writing were coming back pretty much the same. The students were not taking ownership over their work. Gamestar mechanic provided just the opportunity I needed to engage students in an authentic purpose for writing someone else's story in the first person. They were developing a narrative for a video game. Gamestar mechanic was an incredible motivator for my students. They were able to produce quality written narratives in record time in order to develop their video game.
Task 5 - Global Collaboration
Task 5 - Global Collaboration
Tasks 6 - 8 Podcasts
Tasks 6 - 8 Podcasts
Incorporate Gamestar Mechanic into a current lesson that you will teach.
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