Educators implement effective planning, instruction, assessment and reporting practices to create respectful, inclusive environments for student learning and development.
During my three week grade 7 practicum I made sure to implement as many as the standards as I could in the short time I had. Before my practicum started I met with my coaching teacher in his classroom to make sure that we were on the same page. Luckily for me, my coaching teacher regularly uses whiteboards in his class which is something I have been wanting to write into my lesson plans. The amazing thing about whiteboards is it allows the entire class to engage with the lesson in a low stakes manner.
I used them for a “I do, we do, you do” lesson with Order of operations (BEDMAS) in math. I would demonstrate a question on the board step by step. Then I would write a new question and have the students follow along step by step with their whiteboards while getting their input on how to solve the operations. After I would write questions on the board and have them work through it independently on their whiteboards. After a few minutes I would ask them to show their boards to the front of the class. This way I can see everyone’s answer without calling anyone out for being incorrect. I found that some of the more shy students were more willing to participate in this manner rather than being called on.
Throughout my three weeks with this class I used this type of formative assessment as much as possible. What I found is all students engaged with the lessons and were not scared to participate. This style of assessment helps to create an environment that aids the students in feeling safe and not dreading coming to class.