Assessment Activities & Classroom Strategies to meet Diverse Needs & Learning Styles By Reinette Joachim, Jedd Nooy and Emma Missen

Assessment VELS describes assessment as being: ‘A mix of summative assessment of learning to determine what the student has achieved and formative assessment to inform the next stage of learning that will occur’ In order for assessment to be effective it needs to ‘include authentic assessment in which students are asked to perform real- world tasks demonstrating the application of essential knowledge and skill.’

Why do we assess? As VELS states, assessment is a vital part of the learning process. It enables both teachers and students to see areas where the students are competent as well as areas that need more work. Assessment also informs teachers on areas in which students are thriving in because the something they can relate to (authentic). With the information gained through assessment, teachers are able to plan suitable lessons that will further students learning and engage them in their learning. Assessment shows where students are at in their learning as well as how much they have learnt and ensures that the best possible measures are being taken to maximize learning.

3 Stages of Assessment Assessment for learning: where teachers use past information about the progression of students to inform their future teaching; this is formative assessment. Assessment of learning: the teacher will use evidence of learning to evaluate student achievement against the set goals or standards; this is summative assessment.

Formative and Summative Assessment Formative assessment is ongoing, it occurs whilst the teaching activities are going on and enables the teacher to see where they need to go next with their teaching. It is not graded. Summative assessment is a final grade that informs on how the child went throughout the unit or semester; it is grading.

Assessment Assessment must be based on ‘multiple sources of information should be used to make judgments about specific skills and depth of understanding.’ (VELS) Assessment must always include a variety of tasks so that it will cater for the diverse needs and learning styles of the children in the class.

Classroom Strategies to meet diverse needs Diversity is defined as being “ The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.”

Higher Order Thinking A strategy to assist students with diverse needs in there learning is higher order thinking. Higher-order thinking requires students to manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications. This transformation occurs when students combine facts and ideas in order to synthesize, generalize, explain, hypothesize or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation. Manipulating information and ideas through these processes allows students to solve problems and discover new (for them) meanings and understandings.

Link between diverse needs meeting classroom strategies The link between diverse needs meeting classroom strategies is that when you have diverse class you need to have an integrated program which: draws together elements of different disciplines into a meaningful whole combines general and specific content, as well as generic skills that can be applied in many different environments. reflects the complexities of knowledge and its application in diverse contexts, problems and situations reflects closely the interdependence between aspects of life in the ‘real world’ encourages learners, through active investigation, to unify rather than separate knowledge as they move from the acquisition of facts to the development of broader concepts and generalisations has a strong emphasis on student-centred, active learning and on the process of investigating as much as on the product.

Engage all students A great way to help deal with the diversity is to engage all students and get them to interact with each other. The school must also work in correspondence in order to achieve this. If schools are to meet the challenge of educating increased numbers of children with diverse needs, teachers must embrace instruction and curricula that engage and encourage all students. Research about including children from multicultural backgrounds, children from homes in which English is not the primary language, and children with disabilities indicates the importance of several interrelated educational strategies: varied student grouping; developmentally appropriate practice; an inclusive curriculum that emphasizes children's strengths yet still accommodates their needs; high expectations for all students; appropriate physical environment and materials; collaboration and instructional teaming with other teachers and professionals; support from administrators, families, and the community; and ongoing professional development.

Classroom Strategies to meet learning styles Definition- The way a person takes in, understands, expresses and remembers information. Basically, the way a person learns best. Teachers should not ask, “Is this student smart?” but “How is this student smart?”

Learning Styles Three basic: Visual Learners – Learn best through seeing. Focus on body language and facial expressions to get meaning. Auditory Learners – Learn most effectively through listening. i.e. verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through. Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners – Learn efficiently by moving, doing and touching. A more hands on approach is suited

Learning Styles: Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (MI) Seven MI: Verbal-Linguistic – The ability to use words and language Logical-Mathematical – The capacity for inductive and deductive thinking and reasoning, as well as the use of numbers and the recognition of abstract patterns Visual-Spatial – The ability to visualize objects and spatial dimensions, and create internal images and pictures Body-Kinesthetic – The wisdom of the body and the ability to control physical motion Musical-Rhythmic – The ability to recognize tonal patterns and sounds, as well as a sensitivity to rhythms and beats Interpersonal – The capacity for person-to-person communications and relationships Intrapersonal – The spiritual, inner states of being, self-reflection, and awareness

Learning Styles: Piaget’s Constructivism - Students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know Piaget stated that intelligence came from action. He held the belief that children learn through interacting with their surroundings and that learning takes place after development Concrete and abstract perceivers – Concrete perceivers absorb information through direct experience, by doing, acting, sensing, and feeling. Abstract perceivers take in information through analysis, observation, and thinking. An effective classroom has a balanced approach that will cater for both types.

Learning Styles: Vygotsky’s Also a constructivist Vygotsky theorized that learning happens before development can occur He believed that children value input from their surroundings and from others This of course will effect the way in which the child will learn; ie. their learning style, later in their life

The importance of Learning Styles in the class room Curriculum–Educators must place emphasis on intuition, feeling, sensing, and imagination, in addition to the traditional skills of analysis, reason, and sequential problem solving. Instruction–Teachers should design their instruction methods to connect with all four learning styles, using various combinations of experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation. Instructors can introduce a wide variety of experiential elements into the classroom, such as sound, music, visuals, movement, experience, and even talking. Assessment–Teachers should employ a variety of assessment techniques, focusing on the development of “whole brain” capacity and each of the different learning styles.

References ASSESSMENT CLASSROOM STRATEGIES TO MEET DIVERSE NEEDS ml ml 1a.html 1a.html CLASSROOM STRATEGIES TO MEET LEARNING STYLES nitive_development.html nitive_development.html

DEBATE TOPIC 1: Assessment does not have to tie in with diversity and learning styles TOPIC 2: There are adequate assessment resources to cater for diversity and learning styles