Tuesday, February 28

Today we began by dividing into small groups to discuss our journal articles. I really enjoy the time within our small groups because it is always so interesting to hear from people of different licensure areas! We had a social studies, a music, a math, and a biology (myself), so it was a good conglomeration of subjects. After going through each article, we came back to the topic of removing the arts from schools and the effects thereof on the students (which was the journal topic brought up by the music licensure classmate). We discussed how it does not really improve test scores as was the original purpose but may actually discourage students from attending school. Our group discussed how some students come to school just to participate in the activities, like band or sports, that do not necessarily have a basis in athletics. By removing the arts, our group believes that this serves to harm students more than it helps them.

After our group discussion, we returned to the total class setting and reviewed the chapter 10 powerpoint on portfolio assessment. As Dr. Dearman said, it was a "short but very important chapter." Dr. Dearman pointed out how portfolios are beneficial in any subject to measure student higher order thinking. Although important, they do not replace general tests. We talked about how students need various forms of assessment and how they need to be incorporating different medias and technologies. From what I now understand, a portfolio is useful because it is essentially various forms of student work put together in such a way that it serves to measure student progress and growth. A portfolio sounds a lot like the sketch book we used in 9th grade art. We started off with the basics, like shading and simple shapes, and progressed into more diverse forms of drawing, like the use of the various forms of lines. Now it's really neat to look back and see the progression and remember how far we came through that class, to really be able to see how much we learned. It is one of my greatest treasures from high school now. I can see how a portfolio would be a cool motivational tool for students. I think that a portfolio will wind up in the curriculum of my future classroom in some form or fashion.