Month: March 2022

In our blended practicum and assessment class, we had the opportunity of learning in situ at Harwin Elementary. I was grateful for the learning opportunity to engage with students in a grade 5 class and teach lessons for Arts Education, ADST, and Health Education. In this fantastic learning experience, I was so inspired by what students created and the connections made given a short period of time! Here are some examples of the lessons and the products that students created, enjoy 🙂

Fine Arts and Health Education

During our learning in situ at Harwin Elementary, I created a lesson for grade 5’s focused on kindness in anticipation of February 23rd’s Pink Shirt Day. Through this lesson, students inquired about how they can integrate acts of kindness into their daily lives and gained an understanding of the importance of kindness to self and to others to support positive mental well-being. Students demonstrated their learning through visual art forms (shapes, lines, texture, and colour) using oil pastels and watercolour paints to express their learning of kindness and positive mental well-being. Here are some samples!

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ADST and Social Studies

During this time of learning in situ, I also had the opportunity to create a cross curricular lesson for ADST and Social Studies. In this lesson, students were able to apply their skills through a hands-on activity to expand their sense of belonging and connection to place. This lesson integrated a Social Studies component by embedded stories and content of the importance of rivers to the local community and the Lheidli T’enneh territory. Students applied this learning in their creations of a canoe model made out of popsicle sticks. Here are some samples of what the students made!

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A metaphor for assessment: climbing a mountain

When asked what is my metaphor for assessment, I reflected on my experiences climbing mountains during the summer. I realized that climbing a mountain represents both formative and summative assessment. The journey up the mountain represents formative assessment. The hiker represents the teacher, with a backpack full of tools and supplies in preparation for the journey – just as a teacher plans and prepares with lesson plans and resources in anticipation for their students’ learning benefit. However, along the journey, the hiker may come across unforeseen obstacles, like a fallen tree or a stream, and they may have to redirect their path. This represents the daily formative assessments that take place in the classroom, teachers may need to redirect or differentiate instruction as they connect with their students to meet each individual student’s learning needs. The peak of the mountain represents summative assessment, which is the final destination of the learning journey and represents the intended learning outcomes. Often the hiker uses the peak of the mountain as a time for reflection on the journey they have just accomplished, just as the summative assessment reflection on the learning journey. 

I chose this metaphor because I really enjoy hiking and spending time in the mountains. It’s a very useful way for me to reflect and find a different perspective on things, which I believe is an important part of assessment. As teachers, we will continuously gather information and will need to respond to this information as we decide the best way to proceed in a way that will benefit our students’ learning. This reminded me of my experiences hiking, practicing reflection and assessing the best way to proceed. As I learn more about assessment, this metaphor may adapt and grow, just as my learning is 🙂