832 Reflective Report

832 Reflection Statement

There’s a saying in the world of education, “We teach as we are taught.” In my own personal experience, this absolutely holds true for many teachers. Not only do we teach as we are taught, but we also assess as we were assessed. As a young teacher, I didn’t truly have an understanding of assessment and how to make it the best it can be. Only through years of teaching experience and professional development did I gain, what I believe, is a strong understanding of assessment. I truly LOVE guiding others and serving as an information source in this area, because I believe that assessment is the key to expanding learning for our students and helping them to attain at the highest level.

As I began “Assessment Techniques

I needed this to give me an anchor that I could rely on and hold me down, while still exploring the open sea of assessment within other areas. Although techniques of assessment are very similar across the board, their application may look different or be called by a different name. For example, during week four we focused on outcomes assessment. Both higher ed. and K-12 institutions seek accreditation, which is based largely on meeting desired outcomes; However, each level has its own unique processes, accrediting bodies, and methods of gaining accreditation. Another area that comes to mind is, classroom assessment. Institutions should ensure that best practices are in place to reach the goals of optimum student learning. What this looks like in college classrooms, K-12 classrooms, or even in the business world (as witnessed in Tino’s final presentation) is distinctly different despite the common goal of increasing student learning. Aspects and characteristics of assessment and the many commonalities between institutions became apparent to me throughout this

Each learning activity helped me build my skills and more importantly helped me to reflect on what I was learning. Each week I tried to identify new learnings gained from our reading, but, honestly, I found it difficult towards the end to see past the patterns and common threads that ran through the literature. Perhaps that just cemented my discovery that certain interchangeable but necessary pieces make up the whole of assessment no matter what institution it is. I struggled composing my personal philosophy of assessment. I think there is so much that is important, I felt myself almost drowning and had difficulty staying focused. The feedback provided to me helped me expand on statements that I had just brushed over. After I made those corrections, I felt much better about my philosophy and its completeness and how it truly outlines what I believe. Of all the projects, however, the one I feel the very best about is my assessment plan. As a school we have a problem facing us, “How do we determine if our new curriculum is working?” As a leader furthering their education in institutional analysis, I am so