Data Talk and Assessment

2-10-16
We had several speakers discuss data and how to use it to drive instruction at
Trace. Kim Cannon was our first speaker, and she spoke to us about PNOAS. I actually
watched my teacher assess a child using this, and I was able to make a connection to the
speaker much more. I see how time consuming these assessments are, and I appreciated
the opportunity to watch my teacher do assessments. As time consuming as these
assessments can be, they really do show the students knowledge in the areas. While I
understand how difficult these assessments can be, I think it helps the teachers see
specific areas of concern or improvement. Dr. Hoaglund followed Kim Cannon, and she
told us that assessments should make teachers ask questions. These PNOAS can show
teachers where they need to be questioning their instruction.
Miss. Pegouski spoke to us about the reading program. I am in first grade, so I
have seen this used some in the classroom. I actually have done some running records of
my own, so I was interested in hearing about the program. She told us that the school
does not time running records, and I found this interesting! The running records that I
have done have been timed to see the word count per minute, but I used it just for my
own knowledge. The teachers use whole group discussion and small group intensive
lessons to help the students master the necessary skills. There are assessments three times
a year or even more for the teachers to keep track of the students growth.
The Title One teachers spoke to us about Istation. The day before, I had
previously seen my students use this website, so I was interested to hear about the
program. I actually saw one children who could not get onto the program, and I see that
new programs have many kinks that should be worked out. I also do morning

intervention on Thursdays, so I saw a student use this to practice fractions. This website
is informative for the school and the teachers. Istation loosely groups the children by
tiers, but the teachers said not to completely base their groups off of this. The teachers
have been encouraged to use Istation for data. We know that data drives instruction, and
this is a useful tool to help see where instruction should be driven.
Lastly, Mrs. Stone came to speak to us about the ACT Aspire. I do not know much
about this test, but I think that I am coming to know more about it. The older students do
practice tests each Friday, and Mrs. Stone and the teachers can see the data. Teachers
should use this to see where the students need extra help. We did our own test, and the
majority of us missed one problem. Mrs. Stone said that the teacher would then need to
do a lesson over the areas that the students struggle. Assessment is only good if teachers
use the data to drive their instruction. Teachers need to see where students struggle and
then teach them. Teachers must do something with the data, or the assessment is useless. I
think that I took that as the most important statement throughout this meeting.
Assessments can be time consuming and sometimes can appear pointless. They are very
useful and informative if they are used to drive instruction. Teachers must respond to the
data, and I think that is very important!

AMSTI
2/18/2016
We had two ladies come to discuss AMSTI to the class. AMSTI stands for
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative. It strives to bring the conceptual
understanding to the class, rather than rote memorization. This focuses on hands on
activity based learning. In the past, science and math have been very teacher oriented,

where the teacher stands up and gives information to the children who in turn recite it for
a test. Now, AMSTI is encouraging hands on learning with a child focus rather than a
teacher focus. They spoke to us about math and science, and how we can also use some
of the ideas in our classroom.
One astonishing fact that they shared was that three-fourths of first grade students
are good at math yet only 10-15% of students in eleventh grade are good at math. Clearly,
something happens in those years to affect this. AMSTI encourages teachers to use oral
and written communication to think through problems and be able to actually voice how
they solved a problem rather than just knowing it. This is very important, because a
student needs to be able to explain his thinking to teachers so they can understand.
Teachers also need to teach multiple strategies to students, and students need two
strategies to fall back on. I never knew that students needed two strategies that they could
rely on, and I think that this is very important to note. The classroom community in math
should be inquiry based. Students need to own their learning and solve problems, rather
than the teacher simply giving a correct answer. I reflect on my own classroom and how I
can see myself using these strategies in math. I want to provide more exploration
opportunities for the students, so they have the foundation for the algorithms and such. If
students understand the why, then they will in turn understand the how.
They also spoke to us about science. I am personally not a science lover, but we
did a fun activity! The standards have begun to incorporate engineering. Students will
build and problem solve, rather than copy down information from their textbook.
Teachers follow the process of asking, imagining, planning, creating, and improving with
the students. This works for all ages, and I could see the benefits from this exploration.

Students apply what they learn rather than recite it back. We pretended we were in a first
grade class and did an engineering project. What is important is the improving stage.
Students can learn from their hands on mistakes and see how they could do something
better next time. As a teacher, this is very important! I need to know that I should go back
and rework with the students who need to see why their solution did not work.
As a teacher, I might be in a school with AMSTI or I might not be. Regardless, we
learned important information that I can use in my classroom. A main thought is that the
classroom is our classroom, not my classroom. Students need to learn and grow in the
classroom, and they need to take ownership. I will be there for the students, but the
classroom should be theirs. This is a scary thought sometimes, but I see the importance. I
also see that the teacher must set up experiences for students to construct their learning. I
should be a facilitator rather than a giver of information all the time. Students do need to
know information but they should know how to apply it specifically in science and math!

Dr. Wall on Inquiry

Dr. Wall spoke to us about inquiry in the elementary classroom. This talk covered
science mostly, but it also could be used in other areas as well. He was very informative
and gave us simple ways to incorporate inquiry in our science class! This promotes
learning and engagement in the classroom. Dr. Wall gave examples of inquiry in the early
childhood classroom as well as elementary ed classroom. This really showed me that
inquiry can be incorporated easily in any classroom.
We discussed scientific argumentation. It can be broken up into claim, evidence,
and justification. Teachers use these three sections to guide students with inquiry. In the

younger classrooms, teachers first make a claim. This is a simple statement. Students
might make observations after to see the claim in their environment. In older classrooms,
teachers can guide students to make a claim on their own. I appreciate the examples that
Dr. Wall gave us. For example, a teacher can claim that paper will float. Then, the
students might observe paper to see if it does float. I can see myself doing this in the
classroom. It provides more hands on experiences, and it teaches the skills of inquiry!
The second part of scientific argumentation is evidence. Teachers and students
collect the evidence. This might be through experiments or even more observation. This
will include data. In younger classrooms, the teachers will guide the students to collect
the evidence more than they would in the older classrooms. In Dr. Walls example, we
might investigate what floats and what does not float. This will help the students back up
the claim. This is important to teach across subject areas that they must back up their
statements and thoughts with facts!
The third part of scientific argumentation is justification. Students use the
evidence to either support or refute the claim that they created or were given. The
justification must be based on evidence. I think this is one of the most important steps
and vital to teach students, because evidence only matters if they do something with it!
Justification is a process that ties everything together and helps the students make
connections.
This was a very informative talk with Dr. Wall. He provided examples in lower
and upper elementary to show how to incorporate inquiry in the class. I see the
importance of it in not only science but also cross-curricular. I want to push my students

to ask questions and answer them based on experimentation and research. Inquiry
provides a way to do so.