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Data-Driven Decision Making

 Data-driven decision making is important when looking at the facts, metrics, and insights that guide educators to develop strategic business decisions that will align with the goals, strategies, and initiatives that guide the educational and learning outcomes. I look at the guided pathways initiative that came down in 2014-16 with community college initiatives to increase college completion at the community college level. It was surprising the amount of departments that did not rely on data to drive the decisions they make. Since then, my former institution uses data to make more decisions.  One thing that stands out to me for DDDM at one institution is that there is both a pre-assessment and post-assessment for what students in First Year Seminar "knew" before the class, and what they took away from the class after 10 weeks. More students have a better understanding after the completion of First Year Seminar than what they did before, even if they felt confident in their ti...
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Reflective Blog Post #4

 Assistive Technology: I forgot the plethora of assistive technologies available to students, and how crucial the role it can play in supporting college freshman during assessments. This can ensure equal access to education and opportunities for success. Some of the assistive technology that can be used in an assessment settings and help promote student success for all. Assistive technology designed for note-taking can aid students in organizing and accessing information during exams and often have features like audio recording, highlighting , and annotation which can benefit students with attention deficits or processing disorders. Ensuring that exam materials are available and in accessible formats like electronic text or large print can accommodate students with visual or other print disabilities. I also like the thought of utilizing interactive whiteboards and virtual platforms because they can offer alternative assessment methods like multimedia presentations or online...

Reflective Blog Entry#3

One of the items that sticks out to me with this learning module is the teaching demo video of the teacher who personalized student learning through a workshop model. I found it refreshing and provides some insight on how we can structure Senior Capstone in the high school in the future – to make the student learning more personalized. Often, if I am speaking to the class, it’s geared towards those pursuing the 4-year college/university route, and my students going into the Trades mouth off and don’t pay attention because it’s not relevant to them. I can see how breaking into small groups could be beneficial because I could speak to the 4-year college/university students in one group, 2-year college route in another, trades for another and those who want to take a gap year/go directly into the workforce. I need to reflect a bit on the assi gnments and how I would college evidence of student learning.     I also know that GVSU’s AHS 100 – Medical Terminology course utilize...

Reflective Blog Entry#2

  Reflecting upon weeks 3 and 4, I have learned a lot about assessments and how they can be utilized . I feel that I didn’t put as much thought into why assessments happen, and how we can truly use the data to enhance and drive student learning. The curriculum I teach, and the assessments that have been used, are what I inherited from the faculty coordinator. I really want to take a more in-depth look at the assignments my students are doing, and if the assessment to measure success/progress helps to promote student learning, o r if it’s being done to check a box off.   I do utilize rubrics for discussion posts and journal entries, and I find that when I explain the rubric to the students and how they can get the best possible score, I have more students who write to the higher-level criteria. I use the student reflection pieces about assignments that were the most meaningful to them, and the ones that they didn’t like, and see what improvements I can make to the content ...

Assessments in the Classroom Revisited (Reflective Blog #1)

  Delving into the world of assessment is an important part of the process, and it helps to better support student learning. Not only does it allow me to assess how I am doing at presenting material and content to my students, but it also allows me to see how they interact and engage within the module/lesson. I think assessments can also challenge our students to think critically about the topics being covered in class, and to even draw parallels between previous content and new content , as well content they may be learning in other courses.   An area that I hadn’t put a lot of consideration into before last semester, is how assessment and evaluation impact students of color, students with disabilities, language learners, and cultu ral barriers, and if the results would be different if they had more guidance and knowledge on what assessments mean, and to take into account the way they learn, en gage and retain knowledge.   How much assessment is too much? With all the s...