LE2-1 - Understanding Assessment

 

Kelly Stevenson -- Response to Cartoon:

I’ve seen many variations on this cartoon in the ten years since I started teaching, and it is always an excellent reminder that every child is unique. Every child has gifts. Every child has things that they struggle with. I love that I went through teachers college in a time when a huge focus was on differentiation and universal design for learning. It’s such a different approach to what school looked like when I was a student -- when everyone received the same programming and those who were able to find a way to climb the proverbial tree were successful. The strengths of those kids who didn’t quite fit the mold were not celebrated. If we are to celebrate the gifts that make our kids so special, we need to find opportunities for them all to show us what they can do or say that reflect their strengths rather than highlight their challenges.    

A friend of mine liked this image on Twitter this morning, and it made so much sense to me. As educators working with kids who have LDs, we need to make sure we are paying close attention to the Assessment Accommodations sections of their IEPs. That is a great jumping off point for figuring out how to assess a child’s learning with an eye to their strengths and struggles. It doesn’t matter how they show us what they learned. It just matters that we care enough to make the effort to help them get there.

 

Kelly Stevenson -- Response to Tracy:  Hi Tracy! I love the panic zone, learning zone, comfort zone image -- definitely borrowing that -- so thanks for sharing. I think it is so important to remind educators that no learning will happen in a situation where a child is stressed out. A challenge is important, but expecting too much is not productive at all. This is the basis for the self-contained LD class that I’ll have in the fall. The kids have not been able to thrive in mainstream classrooms because mainstream classes don’t put them in the learning zone. My ah-ha moment here is that I always need to remember that they are all different and they are all going to need me to help them find that sweet spot where they are being challenged but not flung into a panic.