Saturday, October 15, 2016

EDU 6160 – Blog Post Assignment #2

In this post, I will discuss the formative and summative assessments plans that are currently being used in my class. Over the course of the next two weeks, in my Lifetime Activities class, my mentor and I will be instructing a tennis unit. In this unit, students will learn and practice tennis rules, strategies, and team play.
Our formative assessment plan for this tennis unit is to observe students’ level of performance during a tournament called King’s Court. This type of tournament style play requires students to be in pairs. Each pair will be assigned an outdoor tennis court. There are a total of 8 courts with 2 pairs on each tennis court. This allows for a class of 32 students to be playing at one time. With two instructors, every 4 courts will have a referee and guide. If a pair wins a match, they will move up towards court 8. If a pair loses a match, they will move down towards court 1. During King’s Court, as instructors, we will be able to know who is struggling (i.e. pairs that are moving towards court 1) and who is excelling (i.e. pairs that are moving towards court 8). Additionally, prior to exiting out to the tennis courts, depending on where we are in the unit, my mentor and I will instruct students on a skill or strategy that needs to be applied during play. For example, during day 4 of the unit, my mentor and I will teach students how to use the term “Fault” in a match. During play, my mentor and I will expect students to utilize the term properly. As guides on the court, we will be able to reiterate and instruct students further on how to use the term. This allows for us to determine each students’ level of performance and adjust or support accordingly. As indicated by Shermis and Di Vesta (2011), formative assessment is for revising instruction use.
         Our summative assessment plan for this tennis unit is to give students a tennis pre-test and tennis post-test. On the first day of the unit, prior to learning any content, students will be tested on their current knowledge of tennis. The pre-test scores tend to be lower on average. My mentor and I highlight which questions students struggled most on. During the unit, we will make sure that the answers to questions are communicated and understood by students. On the last day of the unit, after two weeks of tennis instruction and play, students will be tested on their tennis knowledge. The post-test scores tend to be higher on average and are applied to the gradebook. As indicated by Shermis et al. (2011), summative assessment is to find status use (i.e. either comparing with others or for reaching a standard).

References
        

Shermis, M. D., & J., D. V. (2011). Classroom assessment in action. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 

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