MI Chapter 10

Chapter 10 of Multiple Intelligences discusses MI theory in relation to types of assessments. Standardized tests are the main way that students are assessed today, and this way simply isn’t cutting it. Standardized tests speak to only one type of learner, and they do not leave any room for interpretation. Other traditional assessments include multiple choice, fill in the blank, and matching. There are variety of learning styles out there; therefore teachers should implement a variety of assessment techniques. Not all students are adept at all types of intelligences, therefore it is only fair to reach out to their learning styles and needs in order to accurately gain a picture of where that students stands academically. This is where authentic assessments come into play. Authentic assessment means are ways in which students can be assessed in ways in which they can use their type of intelligence to their advantage. Several authentic assessments include videos, audiotapes, photographs, interviews. Students should be able to express their knowledge and understanding of a particular subject area in such a way that best represents their skill level. Authentic assessments are an excellent feature to any classroom.

One specific type of assessment is found at the Key Learning Community in Indiana. In every grade, starting at Kindergarten, each student is required to present two projects per year. Both of these presentations are recorded, and passed along with the student from year to year. This is an excellent way to document the growth of the student, as well as to get an idea as to where each particular student’s intelligences lie. The Key Learning Community is a wonderful example of a school focused upon education in all eight of the intelligences.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 6

Chapter six is dedicated mostly to instructing teachers how to design good tests using various types of questions. The first understanding is that all test questions should be clear and fair for all students and that teachers need to know how to design effective, objective test questions. The chapter begins with examples of why the standard multiple choice questions are not always the right fit for tests because there are cases when two choices can fit the answer and then it merely becomes a guess on the student's part. It is also true that multiple choice questions do not assess the student's knowledge and skill, or demonstrate how they can apply that knowledge and those skills to other situations. The author also warns teachers about True and False questions because the answers are not always clear. If true and false questions are going to be used it is important that teachers avoid double negatives, long questions and trivial details Because not all students have a highly developed verbal intelligence, it is important to use varying types of questions on a test, such as using diagrams, pictures, maps, writing prompts and sometimes even doing oral exams. All questions should be to the point and straightforward, without giving students the answer. The chapter also discusses why sometimes a few smaller tests are better than one large exam. With shorter exams it is easier for students to focus and they do not have to study as much material, which allows them to really delve into what they are studying for because they will not feel the need to simply memorize. It does not take a rocket scientist to create good test questions!
The general concensus from Practicum Block One is that Chapter Six was very helpful. Mr. Libby writes, "I never really thought of myself as a test writer" and Miss Mitchell said she "had never even thought of what seperates a good test question from a bad one." After reading the chapter many of my peers claimed that the chapter gave them "plenty of ideas for creative test questions," says Mr. Aceto. Many students agree that tests are important and Miss Bubier suggests makes the point that "students have to take tests for things outside of school, both written and in other forms...it is a disservice to students to avoid giving tests." Most everybody agreed that it is important for all questions to be clear because, as Miss Marshall puts it, "tests can make or break you". After reading and learning about forming good test questions, a lot of Block One students took a look back to their own education and experience with test taking. Mr. Carroll remembers his high school English teacher who always managed to create the "worst questions [he'd] ever had" and Mr. Bates commented on how one of his teachers used true and false questions effectivly by having students write out the words rather than a T or an F.

Here is a link for some quick tips on creating and GIVING test in effective ways.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 4

In chapter 4 of our book Fair Isn't Always Equal, by Richard Wormeli, we are given three separate ideas that deal with assessing our students. The three types of assessments discussed in this chapter are portfolios, rubrics, and student self-assessment. Portfolios can help us to judge a student's work over time and allow us to reflect on their progress accurately. Also, a portfolio can help our students evaluate their progress because all of their work will be organized in one easy to access place. The most essential part of the portfolio, in our author's mind, is the flexibility to cater to all the multiple learning styles in our differentiated classrooms. A positive example of how portfolios can be flexible to the various learning styles can be found in a portfolio with multiple mediums. Instead of just holding papers and tests in a portfolio, why not include audio cassettes, recorded presentations. Another type of these assessment is a rubric. Rubrics may be a more complex assessment then portfolios, but they are certainly an intricate part of our classrooms. There are seven important steps to designing a rubric, most importantly, defining the content and the specific skills our students will need to know. Next we must determine if a student has mastered each of these skills. We asses how these rubrics are set up, that is, ill our rubric be analytical or holistic. Another important aspect for our rubrics are the various levels, an example being whether our students' performance was proficient, capable, adequate, limited or poor. Finally, these levels and their criteria must be explained in a few sentences by the educator. This will help our students understand what is expected of them and how they can meet our standards. Rubrics are a highly organized assessor which we can edit and rewrite over and over to meet the needs of our students of any time. The last example our author uses for assessing students is found in the form of student self-assessment. There are many ways that we as educators can allow our students to self-assess. We can have them compare their work using rubrics, fill out reflective questionnaires, or keep a learning log. Self-assessments can help our students to reflect on how their learning has grown over time. We should try and work self-assessments into our differentiated classrooms as they allow students to reflect on their work in a way that they can choose and will fit their learning styles. Essentially, the common thread holding these concepts together is flexibility. All three of these assessment types have room for flexibility which will in turn help us as teachers, tailor our methods to fit our students' learning styles.
We must understand as educators that there is not one specific way to assess our students. We must keep our minds open about innovative ways for assessments and keep flexibility in mind. All three of these assessments types are flexible and when used properly, can do a lot of good for out students. If we can utilize portfolios, rubrics, and self-assessments in our own way and incorporate the suggestions from our author, I feel that we can have some of the best assessments around. This chapter does well to steer us in the right direction for effective assessing, and there is plenty of wonderful information out their to keep our assessments fresh and innovative.

Fair Isn't Always Equal: Chapter 5

Tiering assignments allows students at different readiness levels achieve the sme goals. Every student should be expected to reach the same level of proficiency as the rest of the class, but they all can take different roads to get to that level. The simplest way to tier an assignment is to make questions more or less complex based on the readiness of the student. Learning contracts can be used to allow students to complete an assignment in a different way, or for a later date than the rest of the class. If the student breaks her contract, the teacher can decide what will happen next. Some ways to tier assignments for the entire class are:

• The tic-tac-toe board: This form of tiering allows students to put together their own assignments by choosing one option from each row of the board.


• Cubing: For this type of tiering, the teacher makes a 3-D cube that has different options on each side. Students can choose any one option from every side of the cube.


• RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic/Time): Students choose one option from each category to come up with a complete assignment.

Although tiering is a lot of work, it is effective. Teachers need to be sure the tiering is appropriate and fair for each student. Since not ever assignment needs to be tiered, only tiering major assignments will keep the teacher sane and will help the students learn more.