Assessing Student Learning

Assessment is tricky because it involves attempting to gauge "student learning." How do we know if students have learned? It is difficult to plop "learning" on a scale and give it a letter grade, but, as teachers, it must be done. So, how can I design formative and summative assessments for my unit plan on fame that are student-centered, will involve choice, and that evaluate both reading and writing?

For my summative assessment(s), I am torn. I want the students to produce their own poems about fame because we will have read at least five poems about the topic and will have studied poetic elements (metaphor, rhyme, imagery). However, students need to have practice with media literacy, so I want them to create something that deals with media. I will provide choices of "final" projects that students can choose from. They can either create a commercial/advertisement (using video if they are really media literate or just PowerPoint or print) that advertises the positive and negative effects of fame, or they can set a poem we read in class or one of their choice (that I okay) to music. They would also have to include an explanation of the choice of music selection and how it complements the elements of fame in the poetry.

I don't want to have two big assessments because it could be entirely overwhelming. However, I feel strongly about having students write their own poems, but I want media literacy in the mix somewhere. I'm planning on allowing poetry writing time in class... And, I am including a part about web 2.0 tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. How do I assess that learning, or what does that learning entail?

My formative assessments are a bit hazy because I have not planned my day-to-day lessons yet. Students will complete metaphor, rhyme, and imagery handouts that will display their knowledge of the poetic concepts and will be useful for them to refer to while constructing their own poems. I am also a fan of the "exit ticket" (as are many educators, such as this one, this one, and this one). Before students leave for the day, they answer a question or provide a comment about what they learned that day in class. "Exit tickets" are a brief, easy comprehension check. Other formative assessments will include checking students' writing journals and having them bring in examples of fame in the media (magazines, print ads, internet pages, etc.). So, I have many formative assessments to add, but these are the basics.

Although I have a blur of assessments planned out, I need to hammer out the details, and I would greatly appreciate your feedback in regard to both summative and formative assessments.

The Unit Plan

Although we have dabbled in "lesson plans," we are on the frontier of the humungous "Unit Plan" (complete with capitalization). Although I initially wanted to explore the short story, I would like to broaden my focus to develop an entire unit on fame. For my previous two-day lesson plan, I talked about Emily Dickinson's "Fame is a bee" and Naomi Shihab Nye's "Famous." I could include those two lessons (and expand on them) within this plan in addition to the five required lessons that I will develop.

Fame is a relevant topic for students. My middle schoolers wear Justin Bieber shirts, admire NFL football players, and are addicted to television. They are bombarded by media messages about status, popularity, and talent. Some Big questions we will address are: What makes people famous? What is fame? Who is not famous? How does our society talk about fame? What do the characteristics of famous people tell us about what our society values? What is the relationship between fame and morals?

The unit will not only involve reading poetry and short stories, but also television commercials, magazines, sports stars, political figures, and celebrities. We will read poetry, such as "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost and possibly "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman (in addition to Dickinson and Nye). Any other poetry suggestions? I also want to read a short story or two, but need to search for some. A large part of this unit plan will involve media literacy, so I'm excited to explore how I will go about teaching it.

I still need to address: What standards will I address? What assessments will I include? How long is this unit going to be? I want students to craft their own poems about fame. It would be fun if they could create an advertisement or pamphlet or ad that deals with the opposite of fame... How will students' reading and writing progress?

Although my unit plan is in the beginning stages, I am excited to pursue this topic, and I am greatly interested in your feedback.

Molding Media Literates in the Workshop

While Nancie Atwell's reading/writing workshop truly makes readers and writers, does it make media literates? Because the new 2010 MN ELA standards require teachers to directly address media literacy in the Speaking, Viewing, Listening, & Media Literacy standard, where does media literacy fit in the workshop? The technology Atwell includes in the workshop is limited. She mentions that overhead projectors, photocopiers, and computers are used in class. She schedules students for computer times and encourages them to use the "word processor as a publication tool" (102). Although students are exposed to computers, technology is restricted to using Microsoft Word and clicking, "Print." While media literacy might not have been as crucial in 1998 when the second edition of In the Middle was published, it is essential to take into account today in our technology-packed environment. So, how can media literacy and a bit more technology be integrated into the reading/writing workshop? Or, does it belong there?

In the workshop, when students create their "writing territories," or "self-portraits as a writer," they could create it in the form of a Facebook profile page (Atwell 120). Instead of filling in categories, such as "Favorite Movies," "Location," and "Friends," students can write about their "Topics," "Genres," and "Audiences." Changing the format and creating writing territory profiles would help relate to students yet would still encourage them to generate their topics, genres, and audiences.

Another way of modernizing the workshop is to make writing more interactive through the use of Smartboards. While Atwell prizes the easel as an equalizer and permanent record (103), Smartboards allow students to be more interactive. Instead of using overhead projectors, the teacher could record notes for mini lessons on the Smartboard and invite students to add examples. Smartboards are great for cutting up poetry, editing work, and moving sentences all over.

In addition to using technology, students must be able to read various forms of technology. They need to be reading more than just novels. While one of the rules for Atwell's reading workshop is "You must read a book" (116), students need to develop critical literacy skills to read television, news, magazines, comics, websites, people, and life in general. They must be able to critically analyze the mass media in a plethora of its forms.

Technology today can also revolutionize how and what students publish. Students could publish their final workshop pieces on blogs in order to keep a running record of their progress. While they can still publish in print in local or school newspapers, they could potentially find online magazines, blogs, or other venues to publish creative or opinion material. Not only does current technology allow students to publish more, but it also introduces new genres. Students could add the Tweet, blog, and text message to genres that they are familiar with. While students could add the new "genres" to their territories, they could also adapt their fiction to include aspects of media. Twitter and text "language" is entirely different from regular speech. How would students' characters talk in texts or Tweets? By learning about different media "genres," students can distinguish between multiple forms of writing.

Some ways to integrate technology into the writing workshop include meshing today's technology (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Smartboards, texts) with the philosophy of the workshop. Although I have been arguing for a modernization of the writing workshop, it may be more effective in a predominantly technology-free zone. Giving students time, providing a quiet atmosphere, and conferencing with students may trump all the bells and whistles of media. Still, technology cannot be ignored. If we add media literacy to the reading and writing workshop, students will not only become readers and writers, but will also transform into media literates.

The Free Encyclopedia

While "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," is a conglomeration of information, facts, and opinions that anyone writes, it can also provide a starting point for further investigation. Throughout my education, I was told never to cite Wikipedia because it is not reliable or credible. I have debated with my peers and professors over whether Wikipedia is a reliable, credible, and legitimate source to cite. Should students be able to cite it in their research papers?

Wikipedia provides links to other helpful sources. At the bottom of each entry is usually additional references, a "See Also," and/or a Bibliography list. Although NPR says that college students know not to cite Wikipedia in their academic writing, Wikipedia can jump start research.

Like other sources, though, Wikipedia has to be held up to credible source requirements. Using Wikipedia could be a valuable way of teaching students how to fact check and question the material they are reading. They can apply their media literacy and critical literacy to the articles. Wikipedia also notifies the reader about an article that may not be entirely reliable. In addition, the cite is valuable because it acknowledges that anyone can be an author and creator of published material. The Internet is a public place, where people have access to a plethora of information. We should not ban students from accessing basic information that can lead to extensive research and follow-up searches.

People are using Wikipedia. Universities are launching programs in order to become more involved with public policy. Teachers want students to use it in their searches. Just like any other cite, students should evaluate Wikipedia the free encyclopedia as a source and use it to further their research.

A Self-Serving Post: Standards

The Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary defines "standard" as "a definite level or degree of quality that is proper and adequate for a specific purpose." Academic standards, then, seek to set the "degree" or the "definite level" of college and career readiness after a k-12 education. Politicians and states have standards so that their public schools are working toward a similar level of academic achievement. Standards also allow state and/or national tests to be designed. Why am I blogging about standards? The new Minnesota 2010 English Language Arts Standards were recently released. To organize and absorb the standards in my own head and to help explain them to my cooperating teacher, I am going to outline the key parts of each of the four strands for sixth through eighth grade ELA. In other words, this is a purely self-serving post.

The four strands of the nicely organized ELA standards are Reading; Writing; Speaking, Viewing, Listening, & Media Literacy; and Language. Here is a broad overview with some key benchmarks from sixth grade:

The Reading strand encompasses two substrands: literature and informational texts. Literature includes understanding what the text says, analyzing structure, theme, purpose, and point of view, and evaluating the argument. Key benchmarks for sixth graders include citing evidence from the text and drawing inferences, describing how the plot unfolds, and being able to compare and contrast different forms or genres. Students should also be self-selecting texts for pleasure. The informational substrand includes similar benchmarks, including determining author's point of view, distinguishing supported from unsupported claims, and selecting texts for "personal enjoyment, interest, and academic tasks." Another thread that is present throughout the Reading strand is comprehension and evaluation of texts by and about Minnesota American Indians and their history.

Writing is emphasized as being just as important as reading. Benchmarks include having students write an argument with clear support and evidence, writing informative and narrative texts routinely in different styles, using the writing process of revising, editing, etc., and researching using technology.

Speaking, Viewing, Listening, and Media Literacy encompasses participating effectively and clearly in conversations, collaborations, and in speaking, adapting speech and English to contexts, and analyzing information in media sources. Sixth graders should be able to participate in multiple discussion contexts, include and be able to use multimedia in presentations, and to critically analyze mass media.

The fourth strand, Language, includes mastering standard English grammar and conventions, understanding how language functions in different contexts, and acquiring and using vocabulary. Benchmarks for sixth graders focus on pronouns, Greek or Latin affixes, figurative language, and appropriate academic and domain-specific vocabulary.

The four strands of the new standards are meant to build and support one another. Reading, writing, speaking, listening, media literacy, and language are all necessary aspects of the ELA classroom. Although this post may have been a bit mechanical, it has helped me become more familiar with the standards and their subparts. And, they have set a "definite level" for me to work toward as a future ELA educator.

Technology=Time

Our education classes expound the values and merits of technology. Smartboards, blogs, twitter, wiki pages, Google Readers, clickers, and scads of other technology can be beneficial for teachers and students in and outside of the classroom. Teachers need to access technology in order to relate to our texting, television-viewing, gaming students. However, teachers can also extract the benefits of technology by creating our own Professional Learning Network, or PLN, of educational and content-specific resources. After creating my own PLN, I have learned that technology takes time.

Reading the directions for Twitter, choosing my color scheme for a blog, and figuring out how to edit a wiki page all take time. As a student with a loaded class schedule, I wish I had more time to smooth the kinks out of my PLN. For example, I want to read more about Twitter and discover its "etiquette" as well as how to actually read tweets. In addition to the time it takes to set up the technology, I spend a bit too much time looking at my Google Reader and reading the latest posts from the people I'm following. The information I'm gleaning from reading other academic blogs is beneficial, but it's also distracting.

So, technology requires people to spend copious amounts of time discovering and using its many facets, but the time pays off in terms of information acquired and concepts learned.

If you have time, you can check out some of the other blogs I follow:

Vocabulogic

Dangerously Irrelevant

Dr. DRL's "View from Here"

English Teacher Geek

readmorewritemorethinkmorebemore

Theory Teacher's Blog

Or, some of the people I'm following on Twitter:

jem2323

mindi

spillarke

usedgov

englishcomp

Challenging Those Noggins

Reading does not only include comprehension of complex texts, but also encompasses actively thinking and questioning. In others words, teachers and students have to work their noggins. One way to challenge our brains is through critical literacy. Critical literacy is, according to Heather Coffey at the University of North Carolina, "the ability to read texts in an active, reflective manner in order to better understand power, inequality, and injustice in human relationships."

The "active, reflective" manner of critical literacy is essential for all readers and teachers. Educators must teach students how to engage in texts and reflect on what they are reading in order to foster learning. Students are not only encouraged to comprehend literature, but to also question the message, ideas, and bias of the material. While it is important to critically evaluate literature, a text should not solely be analyzed based on "power, inequality, and injustice." One way to look at power and injustice is to use specific lenses to view literature. But, looking at literature through one narrow lens limits the richness of a text. If we are doing critical literacy and only looking through, for example, an archetypal lens, we may be ignoring a discussion on gender or passing over an opportunity to discuss the literature's social, political, and economic context.

Then, what does critical literacy concretely look like in the classroom? Edward H. Behrman in "Teaching About Language, Power, and Text: A Review of Classroom Practices that Support Critical Literacy," found that there are six educational practices that teachers use in support of critical literacy. They are: reading supplementary texts, reading multiple texts, reading from a resistant perspective, producing counter-texts, conducting student-choice research projects, and taking social action (492). Based on these strategies that teachers use to try and implement critical literacy, it sounds like critical literacy is, well, being a good teacher. For example, Karen Spector and Stephanie Jones' "Constructing Anne Frank: Critical Literacy and the Holocaust in Eighth Grade English" shows how critical literacy means demystifying the happy play version of Anne Frank's life by using other texts and historical information.

So, while critical literacy in practice resembles good teaching techniques, such as using other texts, being aware of different critical approaches or lenses, and allowing student choice, critical literacy is ultimately only one aspect of the ELA classroom. Similarly, a critical literacy lens should not stifle the book, but the lenses, such as gender, class, race, and authority, are valuable concepts to consider when teaching a text. I am wondering, Is it reasonable and practical to teach multiple "lenses" with one book? And, how do I teach students to read and critically evaluate without overwhelming them? While I challenge my own noggin to discover these answers, I can help my students stretch their brains and question their ideologies through some aspects of critical literacy.