Project Description and Reflection 1

Project Description and Reflection

Saesha K. Hall
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Project Description and Reflection 2

For my final project, my goal was to develop a webpage that lists formal and informal

assessments (resources and materials) that teachers would be able to use in an elementary

classroom e.g., Third grade. Doing student assessments is an important and necessary component

of being a teacher. As a new teacher, I feel like I have limited knowledge as to what assessments

are available and how I can use them to my advantage. It is important for me to build my

knowledge of the different types of assessments, informal and formal that are available and how

I can use each assessment within my classroom. I will research 10 assessments (formal and

informal [formal: from checklist or class instruction/texts, informal: assessment presentations or

other activity based activities) that teachers would be able to use within a thirdgrade classroom.

Along with posting the assessment resources and materials, I will include a write up of each

assessment that lists the assessments purpose, how to use, and ideas for which contents each

assessment would word best in (reading, writing, science, etc.). This paper reflects how I

completed each component of my project.

The first component of my project was selecting the assessments I was going to use. Per

my goal of ten assessments, I chose five formal and five informal assessments. I chose these

assessments based upon my ability to either complete them with a student individually, or

realistically incorporate them into my class. The biggest goal of this project was to provide easy

ways for teachers to implement new assessments by testing them myself- so they had to be

activities I could try in my class. This way, I could provide ideas of how to make sure they are

effective within the classroom. I also thought it was important to provide assessments to give to

students individually and assessments you could do as a class. I wanted to ensure that I covered a

variety of types of assessments to be as efficient as possible.

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The second component of this project was research. For each assessment that I selected, I

had to research how to conduct the assessment, how to implement it within the classroom, and

how to assess the data it supplied. This was probably the most time-consuming aspect of the

entire project. However, I feel far more prepared in the way that I conduct and use my

assessments. Because of this project, I feel like I have a much better understanding of how to use

assessment data effectively. Understanding what data each assessment collected was an

important of understanding how to read the results and interpret them. Even when comparing

formal and informal assessments, it is important to understand why type of data you are

collecting and how you can use that information.

The third part of my project with implementation. To be able to provide an effective write

up, I had to personally experience what it was like as a teacher to give these assessments. This is

another reason I chose a wide variety of types of assessments. Some of these assessments I only

did once, while others have become a regular practice in my class. A few of the assessments that

I now use often are the Exit Tickets, Quiz-Quiz Trade, Jeopardy, and Whiteboards. These are

the assessments that I found to be most effective in gather real-time data and tells me whether

my students are understanding a concept. I especially use exit tickets, as I can look closely to see

which questions students most commonly missed- and where the misconceptions might be.

After completing each assessment, I took notes on what I liked about the assessment,

what I didnt like, and ways I thought I might be able to make it better. These notes helped me

write the Tips and Ideas section on each of my assessment pages. It was important to have the

experiences written down to make sure all aspects of conducting the assessment were covered.

Most importantly, I wanted to ensure these assessment methods were effectively for gathering

the data they claimed to. I did not want to list an assessment as beneficial unless I was able to
Project Description and Reflection 4

endorse its usefulness. It needed to not only be effective in the data it collected, but also efficient

for the teacher. Often, I feel like there is so much data to analyze, sometimes teachers dont have

the opportunity to utilize it. I wanted to apply assessment experiences teachers could easily

implement and gather data from.

Once I had completed my research and conducted my assessments, the next step was

putting my information together. One thing that I have learned about being a teacher is that we

do not have a time of time. Ever. To make this resources website efficient, I had to give out my

information as concisely as possible. For this reason, I chose to list each assessments purpose,

how to use, and ideas section in a bullet point format. This allowed me to focus on the key

details of each component about the assessment. In additional to having the materials needed

easily accessible on each page, they have a quick guide available where they can see the main

information they need immediately.

The final portion of this project was to create a website that effectively displayed all the

data and material I have collected. This was probably the most difficult part of the project;

however, I am very proud of the outcome. Initially I had tried working with Google Sites to build

my website, but I found it rather difficult to navigate. With Weebly I was able to very easily

build a website that looks beautiful and operates perfectly.

This website reflects the assessments I researched and used in my third-grade classroom.

This experience has taught me so much about the importance of assessments. The data we collect

as teachers is only effective if we use it. Because of this project, I have a much better

understanding of how to conduct many different types of assessments and what type of data each

assessment collects. Luckily, I can share that knowledge using this website. Hopefully, this will
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serve as a resource to many new teachers needing information on how to conduct a variety of

assessments.
Project Description and Reflection 6

Project References

Hopkins, G. (2007). Whiteboards Stimulate Student Learning. Education World.

Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson251.shtml

Howard, B. (2017). Cooperative Learning Structures Improve Performance and Attitudes of

High School Journalism Students. Kagan Online. Retrieved from

https://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/research_and_rationale/journalism_students.p hp.

Farrell, L., Osenga, T., & Hunter, M. (2013) Comparing the Dolch and Fry High Frequency

Word Lists. Readsters, 1-14. Retrieved from http://www.readsters.com/wp-

content/uploads/ComparingDolchAndFryLists.pdf

Kagan Publishing & Professional Development. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/research_and_rationale/journalism_students.p hp

Marzano, R. J. (2012). Art and Science of Teaching / The Many Uses of Exit Slips. Educational

Leadership , 70(2), 80-81. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/oct12/vol70/num02/The-Many-Uses-of-Exit-Slips.aspx

McKenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new tool for 0

teachers. The Reading Teacher, 626-639.

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Round-Robin Brainstorming Allowing Everyone to Contribute. (n.d.). MindTools.

Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/round-robin-brainstorming.htm

San Diego Quick Assessment of Reading Ability [PDF]. (1999). CORE

Tomaszewski, J. (2011). Tech in the Classroom: Classroom Jeopardy!. Education World.

Retrieved from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech_in_the_classroom/classroom_jeopardy.shtm l

Walbert, D. (2006). Higher order thinking with Venn diagrams. Learn NC.

Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2646

Words their way: word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. (2008).

Pearson Education. Retrieved from

http://readingandwritingproject.com/public/resources/assessments/spelling/spelling_elementary.p

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