Discover Phonics - PROGRAM SAMPLER

12 ASSESSMENT Assessment There are many variables to consider when assessing students. This is an important part of managing a smooth classroom conducive to learning. Students bring forward varying levels of background knowledge. Literacy development is often not linear across language domains (e.g., students may have higher oral proficiency in some cases and written proficiency in others). The “funds of knowledge” (Moll, 2013) or multicultural resources they possess play an important role too. From an instructional perspective, Discover Phonics uses a spiral approach, so that students can revisit several components of learning throughout the curriculum. The assessment philosophy follows this approach. The systematic approach views all student activities as providing information about achievement. As such, formative assessment plays a vital role. Formative assessment is an ongoing process related to student progress toward meeting learning targets, goals or objectives of a unit. During the instructional cycle, teachers gather information to determine the effectiveness of instruction. Based on that information, teachers provide timely and relevant feedback (Gottlieb, 2016). Further, teachers use this information to tailor instruction. Discover Phonics offers teachers explicit guidance in both the “amplifiy” and “scaffold” section of each lesson, as well as the “Assess and Reteach” segments. Students themselves play a vital role in the assessment process. Gottlieb (2016) describes the importance of students, especially English Learners contributing to and helping to shape the assessment process. They should begin to advocate for themselves, take responsibility for their own learning, work towards becoming independent and self-regulated learners. Children should begin to monitor their personal growth and progress towards their learning goals, work with peers, and gradually become instructional resources for each other. When learners regularly stop to check on their understanding, they can demonstrate what they know in ways that relate to the current learning, as well as the knowledge that is developing.