No Series: Tracking Tools: Assess & Celebrate Learning

Tracking Tools: Assess & Celebrate Learning

Lesson Objective: Encourage active participation by tracking student learning

All Grades / All Subjects / Participation

2 MIN

Discussion
Supporting Materials

Thought starters

How does Ms. Wessling use the thumbs up assessment to inform her teaching?
How do these tools give both students and teachers feedback?
What can you learn from Ms. Wessling about encouraging active participation?

8 Comments

Almarene Simon-... Dec 24, 2016 4:16am

Feedback is important. I like the use of the thumbs up or down as a quick way to assess .It also really allows for the teacher to possibly give the chance to have students learn from each other 'right there ' before moving along to their independent work.

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m Williams Nov 30, 2016 3:44pm

Real time feedback benefits both the students and the teachers. In the moment feedback encourages involvement and engagement, The teacher can assess and assist in the moment.

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Adam Hopson Sep 16, 2016 12:33am

This (thumbs up assessment) is a easy way to get real-time feedback, and a medium of sorts for easing students who are apprehensive about participation into opening up.

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Carolyn Patton Mar 25, 2015 4:30pm

I like it!Great immediate feedback for teacher. No need to move on until students fully understand concept.

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Rob Siegel Jan 30, 2014 10:46am

This is a great idea. I was a bit appalled when she said she records 15minutes! I would personally record no more than 1 minute. However, it's a lot easier and more can be said in one minute than writing the same text. I also teach online classes for Masters of Ed students where I think this technique is a no-brainer.

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Materials

Tracking Tools: Assess & Celebrate Learning Transcript

Transcripts

Transcript: Tracking Tools: Assess & Celebrate Learning – with Sarah Brown Wessling

[00:00]
Interviewer: Students can participate in a classroom in a

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Transcript: Tracking Tools: Assess & Celebrate Learning – with Sarah Brown Wessling

[00:00]
Interviewer: Students can participate in a classroom in a variety of ways. Certainly we see kids participating by raising their hand or turning to another student, and talking to them when they’re prompted and sometimes when they’re not prompted.

I also like to really reward some of the moments that we see in the class as unique, as special, they’re kind of light bulb moments. I’ll start snapping at moments that are interesting to me.

Good job, in true coffee house style we got to snap.

Or when I hear a student just phrase something in an interesting way or in a great way, and the students pick up on it.

Interviewee: I mean what society kind of creates as the reality in itself.

Interviewer: The thumbs up is another way for me to gauge where they’re at.

When something is making sense for you, will you give me the thumbs up? Or if you start to get totally confused, I’ve just done something that totally messes you up, give me the thumbs down.

Especially with my sophomores, at the beginning of the year, they’re a little timid. They’re not quite sure what this whole high school thing is about. Sometimes it’s cool to look disinterested.

So let’s start with giving me some thumbs up, thumbs down or somewhere in the middle. Worked, everything was fine, did not work? So if the thumbs are down or in the middle is it because of video problems?

This is a way for me to get that feedback, are you getting it, are you not?

Are we doing okay so far? Do I get thumbs up so far? No confusion, fabulous.

So thumbs up, yep, I’m with you. Thumbs down, no, I’m not. Sometimes we do thumbs to the side and that let’s me know, “I am somewhere in between.”

Can you give me the thumbs up if this makes sense? All right, wonderful. What’s really key about this then is when there’s time for me to walk around the classroom or they’re doing some work, I know that the kids who are going like this or the kids who are going like this, they’re signaling me to come in and talk with them first.

[End of Audio]

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