The Wiki Way of Learning
Learning about how wikis can show student thinking and allow for reflection and problem solving has helped me to see the benefits of wiki in the classroom. Before reading this article I was ignorant about how beneficial wikis because they allow students to learn from each other, which is the best way to learn. Wikis allow collaboration, co-construction and demonstrates different ways of learning. There is no expert in a wiki, only collaborators constructing knowledge together.
Wikis provide a quick way for students to construct knowledge socially in an authentic way and provide them the space to reflect on their thinking and how their thinking has changed. Ruth (2004) says that students will be more engaged in learning if they can get help from teachers and other students and if they feel that the task is meaningful. Knowing why a wiki is used is so much more important to me than knowing how they are used. I am looking forward to seeing more examples of wikis working in science and psychology classes to implement the same ideas and wikis for reviewing major concepts in my classroom.
Social and cooperative learning have been shown to be more beneficial to a diverse group of students. Wikis may be another way I reach out to underserved students.
(from abpc.wikispaces.com)
The graphic compares collaboration via email with wiki
Standard 5 Meta-Reflection: Assessment
Philosophy of Assessment
Standard 5 Assessment indicates I need to assess students’ mastery of curriculum and modify instruction to maximize learning.
This paper articulates my personal philosophy of the relationship between classroom instruction, assessment, and student learning and was the culminating piece of work in my course on standards-based assessment strategies. This artifact demonstrates my knowledge of the “Assessment” content standard by addressing how closely related instruction and assessment are in my classroom. I wrote about the ways in which I assess students’ mastery of curriculum content and my ability to modify my instruction in order to maximize student learning based on the assessments I make during instruction.
This paper caused me to reflect on my teaching practices in light of current research in the area of assessment and grading in the classroom. Purposefully tying both formal and informal assessments into my instruction and then modifying my instruction using those assessments will have a positive impact on student learning. Students will get more feedback on their progress toward learning goals, and I will know better the areas we will need to review before a major assessment.
My philosophy of assessment is related to my daily life in the classroom as a science teacher and all of my interactions with students. I explain that I constantly assess students and I want to continue to have multiple forms of assessments guiding all of the phases of my instructional process.
