LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

CEU courses open for enrollment

Differentiating Instruction in Online Courses - Carolina Online Teacher Program
Tailor your online instruction to meet the unique learning styles of specific students. You'll develop differentiated components of your own online courses through practical assignments, and modify content, learning experiences, and assessments to address individual students' needs.
Take this course: Begins March 22.

From the education reference

authentic assessment
Assessment that seeks to evaluate students' abilities in "real-world" contexts, including the application and demonstration of skills and knowledge to authentic tasks or projects likely to be encountered in adult life.
assessment
The process or means of evaluating a student’s knowledge or skills.
summative assessment
Evaluation administered at the conclusion of a unit of instruction to comprehensively assess student learning and the effectiveness of an instructional method or program.
formative assessment
A process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides explicit feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes. Formative assessment is a method of continually evaluating students’ academic needs and development within the classroom and precedes local benchmark assessments and state-mandated summative assessments.
alternative assessment
Assessment that measures student learning in forms other than traditional pencil-and-paper tests.
performance assessment
Assessment that measures student performance on concrete tasks or activities as opposed to standardized multiple-choice tests. Students are expected to apply a range of skills and knowledge to solve a problem. Assessment is based not only on the results of the task but also on the processes of task performance.
portfolio assessment
Assessment that is based on a collection of student work (see portfolio), measuring student progress in a variety of skills in one class or over the course of a school year.
criterion-referenced assessment
Assessment that measures student knowledge and understanding in relation to specific standards or performance objectives. Criterion-referenced assessment measures students' performance in relation to standards, not in relation to other students; all students may earn the highest grade if all meet the established performance criteria.
norm-referenced assessment
An assessment designed to measure and compare individual students' performances or test results to those of an appropriate peer group (that is, norm group) at the classroom, local, or national level. Students with the best performance on a given assessment receive the highest grades.
problem-based assessment
Based on a problem-solving or problem-posing educational model, problem-based assessment involves the presentation of a problem the student must solve.
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
A consortium of state and national education agencies and organizations focused on the preparation, licensure, and professional development of teachers. INTASC is guided by the belief that student learning standards should drive the preparation and development of teachers.

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Ongoing assessment for reading
Ongoing, informal assessment is crucial to teaching reading. Using audio and visual examples, this edition explains the use of running records and miscue analysis, tools that help a teacher to identify patterns in student reading behaviors and the strategies a reader uses to make sense of text.
Format: series (multiple pages)
Running records as authentic testing
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.2
In many school systems, running records are administered using preprinted running record sheets that contain the exact text the student is reading in a matching leveled book. To allow a teacher to administer multiple assessments with a single student, two...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Summarizing the session
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.6
After the reading, comprehension check, and miscue analysis, all of the information gathered should be recorded. This single-page report will help identify patterns in use by the reader. The totals for graphic similarity, semantic and syntactic usage should...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Extensions
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.9
As you become adept at miscue analysis, you may find other additions to your coding that are particularly helpful. Although it is not suggested in any texts I have read on miscue analysis, I find it helpful to code student miscues while the student is reading...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Preparing for miscue analysis
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.2
Selecting the text Select a complete text that the student has not previously read. Choose a text that is approximately one level above what the independent reading level has been determined to be. With the higher reading...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Math for multiple intelligences
How a middle-school math teacher realized she was boring and jump-started her career — and her students — by using thematic planning, emphasizing problem solving, and teaching to multiple intelligences.
Format: series (multiple pages)
Self-corrections
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.5
Although self-corrections may seem less important as a diagnostic tool than errors, they demonstrate the way in which a reader is working to make sense of a text and allow the teacher a glimpse into the child's thinking. Teachers can identify patterns of a...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Running records and you
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.1
If you teach in North Carolina, you are already "doing" running records. Your school mandates them as a means of assessing student reading. Hopefully you received some training for these assessments, but if your experience was like that of many teachers, you...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Checking comprehension
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.4
Many assessments for students’ comprehension contain questions to be answered by the student. Miscue analysis makes retelling the performance of comprehension. When a student completes a reading, the teacher should facilitate both an unaided and aided retelling...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Text selection
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.3
Finding the instructional level Texts selected for running records should challenge a student sufficiently that he or she makes some errors for the student to analyze, but not enough that he or she becomes frustrated. This level is called the instructional...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Practice story
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.9
Ready to practice? Print out the following story and have a blank piece of paper or a blank running record form ready. Use the sound clip below to practice taking a running record of this child’s reading. First, record what the...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Instructional assessment: Finding teaching points
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.8
Over time, running records can show patterns in student use of cuing systems and self corrections. But individual running records can also be useful in instruction. After each running record, a teacher can choose a teaching point, using the student's...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Opening an Hispanic restaurant
This lesson focuses on vocabulary and currency associated with food, restaurants, and menus. Students conduct research to create an authentic menu with a companion recipe books. The lesson culminates in short presentations and food samples.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Second Languages)
By Susan Canipe.
Quantitative analysis
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.7
By doing some simple calculations from your running record, you can not only get a better sense of how well the child is reading but select more appropriate texts for further running records. Error ratio The error ratio, the ratio of errors...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Why miscue analysis?
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.1
A holistic view of reading takes into account that "both the reader and the author are equally active in constructing or building meaning." The text available is the "medium through which the author and reader transact."* Teachers...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Cuing systems: Analyzing reading behaviors
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.6
Cuing systems are the self-extending systems students use to act upon text in order to make sense of it. These systems may be used independently or in conjunction with one another. When you administer running records, you can analyze cuing systems...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Ongoing assessment strategies for writing
Making final assessment easier by helping students improve the quality of their writing along the way.
By Sherri Phillips Merrit.
Reading behaviors
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 1.4
A blank sheet of paper or blank running record sheet, a pencil, and a carefully selected text are all the materials needed to capture a student's reading behaviors. The reading behaviors — including the student's physical actions such as eye and hand...
By Jeanne Gunther.
Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course: Online course syllabus
Syllabus for the online class, Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course, which provides a collection of resources and exercises that define the unique assessment process of online courses.
Format: syllabus
Practice story
In Ongoing assessment for reading, page 2.7
The following story is the first chapter of a text entitled Isabelefant, a Fourth Grade Friend. The chapter is provided both in its authentic format, the format a reader would encounter, and as a typescript with numbered sentences...
By Jeanne Gunther.