Language Assessment
The skill of teaching can be complicated, but assessments can guide the instruction of the lessons. After looking over the Moog Syntax Rating Form I can see why teachers find Language assessments to be so important. The form tests the students language on many levels in many different ways. This would of been a great resource when testing the language of a past student. The Moog Center maps out what a teacher should look for in the Syntax Reference Sheet. It goes into detail and displays multiple examples of what the parts of language consist of. To have that so called cheat sheet would of been a handy dandy guide to looking for the necessary language in a Deaf and Hard of hearing student. My inventory would have been more reliable. In the future when I take language samples and administer assessments of students I will know what to look for in each part of language. This can only benefit my students and myself when planning for successful instruction.
Burning Questions.
How can a teacher for the D/HH include more incidentally learning in the classroom? Will discussions work as a way for students to pick up on correct and effective language?
Writing Assessment
The resources (for example, Exploring How Texts Work) for written assessment provided an inside look into the ways to assess written language samples. For an upcoming project I will be needing to assess a collection of writing samples and develop a present level of performance. While the common core standards may not always apply to the examination of an assessment it can lead to the level of a student. To look at a written language sample I will be assessing the students informational reports and persuasive texts to see their knowledge of the written language. I find that this will be very challenging, I will need to know exactly what I am looking for and document every quantitative and qualitative data I observe. From the resources, I will be focusing on organization and the language features displayed by the student. I am not exactly sure how to pull data out of these and present them to the team member of the IEP while remaining in a professional language.
After reading the breakdown of expectations of the college readiness program, I got to thinking of all the difficulties Deaf and Hard of hearing (D/HH) students face to begin with. It is a common statistic that a majority of D/HH students graduate with a 3rd grade reading level. As a student in a masters program preparing me to hopefully get the opportunity to teach those who are D/HH, I can admit I am afraid of taking on the task.
How will I provide my students with the information needed to get them college ready or even just ready for the next grade?
Although there are many assessments to test language skills and writing, how will I manage addressing a whole classrooms needs successfully?
Is it possible in a few years that the common core will offer more flexible options for teacher who are teaching those who are learning the english language?
