According to the document Growing Success, diagnostic assessment occurs before instruction begins so teacher's can determine student's readiness to learn new knowledge and skills, as well as obtain information about their interests and learning preferences.
I remember back in high school each year when I returned back from Summer in my math class we would write a quiz to give feedback to the teacher about what we remembered from math last year. The issue with this type of diagnostic assessment is that sometimes students will forget certain topics if they haven't taken math in over a year (for example, last math they took was first semester of the previous year and they currently have math second semester of the current year) and they'll only need a reminder to refresh their brain on how to do certain topics. I believe a more effective method for diagnostic assessment would be to break students into random groups to allow them to work on questions together. This will allow the students to meet some new classmates and refresh their learning in a peer friendly environment. The teacher can walk around the classroom and assess the conversations being had about the math questions and assist groups in they are having troubles with certain problems.
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Diagnostic assessment will help teachers get a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their students so that they can prepare their lessons and assessment tools accordingly as the school year progresses.
Awesome post Ryan!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your explaintion of the importance of appropriate diagnostic assessment. You did a great job explaining the I struggles diagnostic assessment can cause. As a teacher it's our responsibility to tailor our lessons and assessments to the individual needs of our students.
I really like your idea of using groups to work through problems as a means of diagnostic assessment. I think it would be really interesting to try and incorporate cooperative activities through this. The benefit would be the opportunity to further develop a sense of community within the classroom.
Cheers,
Mike S.
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love how you looked at the "returning from Summer feedback quizzes" as problematic. I think that not only are the tests problematic in what they actually assess (as you mentioned), but also in how they set the tone for the academic year. Asking students to complete an individual diagnostic test during the first week of class does not exactly reflect an inclusive and collaborative math community/culture. Our students are able to understand what information/learning styles we as teachers value most, and I believe that the "returning from Summer feedback quizzes" send a problematic message.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love how you looked at the "returning from Summer feedback quizzes" as problematic. I think that not only are the tests problematic in what they actually assess (as you mentioned), but also in how they set the tone for the academic year. Asking students to complete an individual diagnostic test during the first week of class does not exactly reflect an inclusive and collaborative math community/culture. Our students are able to understand what information/learning styles we as teachers value most, and I believe that the "returning from Summer feedback quizzes" send a problematic message.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey,
ReplyDeleteGreat post this week. I really liked how you connected your post about diagnostic assessments to your own experiences with them in highschool. I felt that this made me remember my experiences with them as well. I also agree that when I had a quiz or a test as a "refresher" after coming back from the summer I often couldn't remember a lot of the material I did last year. Moreover, your idea of breaking students into groups is a fantastic way to remove the stressful "remembering quiz" and make it a more enjoyable experience.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThe idea of having students work together on some diagnostic assessments will not only give you information about where they are in terms of their math learning but will also help you get a sense of the learners in your room and their needs (not just in a mathematical way but also as a member of a classroom). You will quickly figure out who the quiet ones are, who likes sharing in a small group, who likes sharing large group, who takes charge, who listens, etc. This approach makes great use of your time in class as you will "diagnose" the math and the learner and also allow students to do some learning at the same time.