I really love using Google Forms for anecdotal notes (something like this). I hate having to keep track of sticky notes, photos/samples of student work, class lists with comments, etc. and then try to make sense of it all come report card time. A few years ago, I was introduced to the […]
Assessment
Training Students To Have Independent Reflection Skills
Assessment in my music room follows a gradual release of responsibility model. I explicitly teach students how to self-assess their ability to create and play a song correctly. I do this regularly throughout the year as we learn how to play different instruments, songs and arrangements. Co-creating a Criteria Near the beginning of a […]
Define and defying (smart) device use
There’s more to Modern Learning than delivering lessons on to smartphones. There’s more to Modern Learning than having a paperless class. There’s more to Modern Learning because there just is… And I’m fine with that because there is more to Modern Learning. So much so, that we are seeing more and more educators trying to define it even if others seem […]
Who? What? Where?
One of the anchor charts in my classroom states that Reading is… Remembering and Understanding. This is what I use to help students understand that good reading is so much more than word decoding. In my classroom I am often faced with trying to help students who have difficulty in their reading comprehension. They lack […]
Ontario Student Record Search
Wow, we are already into the second month of this school year and I am not sure I really know my students very well yet. I have a working idea of who they are as students and as people but need to gather more information to help me with my programming. That is where using […]
Tortoise Brained Learning and Students
In my last post I focussed on the philosophical belief that quality vs quantity of professional learning is a more effective way of enhancing pedagogical practice. What does that mean for my classroom instruction? As I grow to understand the presence of different learning styles in my class, the presence of multiple intelligences and the […]
Assessment for Inquiry Projects
Teachers are encouraged to use inquiry in all subject areas. Using inquiry is not necessarily a set of steps to follow or instruct, but an approach to guide student learning. It usually results in greater engagement and can easily be differentiated to individuals and groups. What is often the biggest challenge for teachers is the assessment piece. […]
More Learning Skills Comments!
One of the most popular posts I have written over the past few years was a collection of Learning Skills comments I put together. It continues to get views and comments regularly, but like most of us, I cringe when I look back on what I wrote three or four years ago. They’re not bad […]