Module 4 A Closer Look At Assessment Tools

In today’s education, every child is at a different stage in their learning and develops at a different rate. It is the job of the teachers to observe and assess the uniqueness of each child, their personalities and their strengths and weaknesses (Module 4: A Closer Look at Assessment Tools). In order to truly see and observe a child’s development in terms of education, the use of several documentation tools and techniques are used. The two tools that will be talked about in this paper are work samples and learning stories.

Work samples are tangible pieces of evidence that showcases a child’s effort, progress and achievement (Module 4: A Closer Look at Assessment Tools: Work Samples 4.2.5). Work samples are a way for educators to display the

An example of work samples being used is conducted by Charlotte Stetson. One fall she used animals as an umbrella theme in her multiage 1st and 2nd grade classroom. The children explored the question, "How do animals prepare for winter?" Another example of work samples being used in a classroom setting is being used in schools in Washington DC to measure the quality of work done by students. The schools use what is known as EQuIP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products) and it is an initiative designed to identify high-quality materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards

Learning stories are an observation method that is written in a narrative story format to highlight a child’s learning (Module 4: A Closer Look at Assessment Tools: Learning Stories 4.2.6). Learning stories is a creative method that incorporates what the child has done during the day and relates it to how they could accomplish a task. The teacher often shares the learning stories with both the child and family members and they are able to add comments, ask follow-up questions and make suggestions about the learning story, which is essential in helping the child develop and grow in their education. The strength of using this method is the child receives positive messages that their ideas and way of thinking are valued and they enjoy hearing stories about their successes and provides authentic information about a child’s strengths in a friendly and personal format etc. Some limitations the use of learning stories has is that it can be time consuming, difficult to remain on the objective and does not provide quantitative