Time to Celebrate!

At the beginning of this course, I was eager to gain a multitude of information and tools which I can use in my future classroom. One of my major goals for my professional growth in this course was to be able to create and implement an effective and engaging SS lesson plan that is in line with the NYS standards and the edTPA guidelines. I hoped to achieve this goal by working hard and asking questions when needed to make sure I created my lesson plans so they are the best they can be.

I am happy to report that now that it is the end of the course, I have gained so many tools that can apply to not only my education career but my overall career as a student. I am very happy to say that I have achieved all my goals that I set in the beginning of the class.  I worked very hard and I am proud of how much I have accomplished. As I step away from this course, I will be able to use technology more effectively and create engaging lesson and unit plans. I can not wait to see what the future has in store for me.

Thank you to my classmates and especially Dr. Smirnova for joining me in this journey and constantly to encourage me to do my best work!

Tribal Tribulations

Overall, my experience with the Native American Tribe project was a very positive and educational one. The presentation included geography, origin, history, culture, food, clothes, and habitat of  a specific Native American Tribe, the Dine’ Tribe. As part of the jigsaw cooperative learning model, each member was assigned a specific topic to research and present. My responsibility was to research the culture and clothes of the Dine’ tribe. To accomplish this task, I started my research and quickly realized that I was not finding many search results after entering the search term “Dine’ tribe culture.” I then realized that the Dine’ tribe was also known as the Navajo people. After learning this fact, my research became easier. I quickly found websites such as “Native American Indian Facts,” “Navajo Culture,” and “Navajo Culture and Traditions.” These websites provided valuable information that allowed me to grow my knowledge of Native American culture and my increase my ability to effectively research necessary information. After completing my part of the project, I was an expert on Dine’ culture and clothing, however, there were so many other topics that I did not know about. I consulted with my group and this is where cooperative learning came into play. We worked together to construct our Powerpoint, and combined our independent findings into one cohesive project to effectively tie together all information. When we presented to our fellow classmates, it was clear that as a group we worked very well together. Each piece of the “Dine’ puzzle” came together to form an informative presentation that not only gave our audience an insight into the world of the Dine’ tribe, but also created a wider range of diversity acceptance and awareness. 

Choosing to Be Grateful

The New York Time's Article "Choosing to Be Grateful" has really opened my eyes. As the holidays approach rapidly,  I realize how important it is to recognize your loved ones. Two years ago, I lost someone very close to my heart: my Grandpa, or as my family called him, Pop-Pop. Pop-Pop was an integral part of our family's life and he provided us with many laughs, jokes, and smiles. This will be the second thanksgiving without Pop-Pop, and, although he seemed to initiate arguments better than anyone could, he is dearly missed. I am so grateful to have known my Pop-Pop. He has provided me with more knowledge about self-respect, confidence, history, and hard work than anyone ever has. Never will I ever take advantage or forsake the time I spent with him, and I will always be grateful for the wisdom he has left behind for my cousins and I to share.

Keep Calm and Teach Economics

This week in class, we studied the topic of economics. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard this was the memories of my high school economics teacher and his cheesy phrase that he'd always say: "I'm supply and you're de-man!" I didn't learn much in that class, but I always knew that economics was mainly associated to money and business. To elaborate on how to teach this topic, my classmates and I contributed to a class PowerPoint on economics. This activity was very interesting to receive the chance to research a very broad topic and discover ways of incorporating economics into the classroom setting. One example, that stood out to me, was the idea of a classroom market. Students can receive class cash by completing assignments, good grades, or being helpful in the classroom. After receiving a certain amount of cash, students can cash their money in at the class market where they can either receive a classroom reward coupon or a small prize or treat of sorts. This is great motivation for students to continue to work as hard as they can. Please view my class' PowerPoint on Economics and all of the wonderful parts of it that is super important to teach to students. The PowerPoint also includes terrific ways to introduce these topics to students in a fun and engaging way. Please also see the following video that demonstrates a classroom market in action!

Pre and Post Tests: Are they worth it?

In my opinion, both types of tests are necessary to assess student learning. In terms of pre-testing, it allows teachers to understand what students know and what they might still be confused on. Prior knowledge is crucial in order to build on skills. If you do not have an idea of where to start with your students, they may become more confused and lost in terms of the lessons being taught. This could lead to frustration and less motivation to succeed. In my fieldwork experience, my class created a pre-test to assess our students' knowledge on the lesson we were about to teach in order to discover what we should focus our lessons on and what topics we should only slightly go over because students have a very good understanding of that topic. This was super helpful when going into the classroom. Post-testing is also a very helpful tool. By testing students at the end of a lesson or unit, teachers can establish how well students actually grasped the knowledge presented to them. Post tests also allow teachers to decide where to go next. For example, if I continued to teach in the 5th grade classroom, the post tests would allow me to decide what topic was best to teach next to create the best understanding in my students that I could. Both types of testing must work together to assess student knowledge without constant wonder of what students must learn. 

 

Past, Present, Future: Current Events

    In my classroom, I was required to choose a current events article and create a lesson to which would be reflective of how we could possibly introduce current events into the classroom. This activity was really interesting and fun to create and I never realized how many various ways that current events can tie into the curriculum and relate to social studies and other content areas such as ELA. This type of lesson and activity could be considered an inquiry lesson because of constant questioning and development of understanding throughout the presentation. This lesson could be presented in lower or higher grade levels depending on the main idea and difficulty of the article. The article I choose was one that was near and dear to my heart. Recently, Sesame Street introduced a character on their show named Julia. No big deal, another character, right? WRONG! Julia has autism. This incorporation of a character with a disability is amazing for each and every child in the world. By creating Julia, Sesame Street did not only create a new fun loving character, but also a relatable character that can inspire children to love everyone disabled or not and be aware of diversity. Since someday I will be a special education teacher as well as a elementary teacher, I would consider this a turning point in pop culture. Please view my Current Events Project that connects this wonderful article with the elementary curriculum. One thing I forgot to mention is that after presenting to my peers, they provided constructive feedback that will allow me to develop my presentation skills. Please see their comments here.  

My Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher, your job is not only to teach, but to also inspire and encourage your students. It is so important to encourage students to share their ideas and opinions. In order for students to feel comfortable to express themselves, you must create a safe space, an inviting community of sorts in order to inspire children to be themselves. In order to create this safe space, respect is key. Respect among students, respect from the teacher, and respect for each other.
               My view on teaching social studies is somewhat of the same principles. In order to create worthwhile learning, students must know the importance of aspects such as respect and ownership in the classroom. So much of social studies is presented in daily life which allows it to be a very influential topic if you teach it effectively. Group work especially is very important in a social studies classroom because it develops individual accountability, social skills, group processing, and positive interdependence that not only apply to group projects, but also apply to learning as a whole. If students can’t develop these skills, it will be very hard for them to succeed in their adult lives. Since most concepts of social studies follow students into adulthood, it is crucial for students to create a deep understanding of these concepts early in their education rather than later.

               As a teacher, I realize the importance of social studies and the crucial role it plays on our lives. The subject of social studies represents our past, present, and future; therefore, students have the right to learn about it in our classrooms and develop a strong understanding of its importance. In summary, learning inspire students to grow and be the best they can be. If an environment is nurturing, encouraging, and provides choice, students will only better themselves as learners and grow into their best selves. 

Be a Champion! Be a Teacher!

I found this video lately and it is absolutely amazing! The name of this video is "Every kid needs a champion". Early in the video Rita mentions that "kids do not learn from people they do not love," I stand by this statement because of how absolutely true it is! I don't want to ruin the video for you, so watch it for yourself and learn how great it truly is to be a teacher! 

I'm here too!

As I explain my journey and all that I've learned and gained from this experience. I almost forgot that you are probably wondering about me a little. Well, I made this Pinterest board to describe myself to my classmates. I figured I would share this with you all! Enjoy! 

Visit my Pinterest board! 

"So tell me about yourself" : My experience from a mock interview

In class, we conducted a mock interview. In this mock interview 4 of my fellow classmates were chosen to act as administrators. As administrators, they each constructed about 5 questions to ask each group. Some of these questions included: 

If you are teaching a lesson on Geography, how will you incorporate technology into your cooperative lesson?

What cooperative learning activities or tasks will you use when teaching a cooperative learning lesson on economics?

What is your teaching philosophy?

What made you want to become a teacher?

There was also other thoughtful questions. 

At first, I was very nervous about the whole interview process. I have never gone for a formal interview before, so I did not know what to expect. Once the questions started being asked, my nerves got the best of me and I started to get tongue tied. After a few questions, I started to get more comfortable because I felt passionate and confident about my answers. 

The interview in itself I think was slightly difficult because you did not know what kind of questions the administrators were going to ask or the type of answers that they expected to hear. On the other hand, I felt that the interview was slightly easy as well because since the administrators were my fellow classmates I felt comfortable to express myself and my answers. It was also nice to know that if I didn't understand a question or I became tongue tied my classmates would help me out by explaining the question or encouraging me in answering it. 

Even though I was very nervous for the entire process, apparently I handled myself very well, dressed professionally, and articulated my answers well. This is what my administrators said when they announced that from my group I would be the one they would hire. I was very proud of myself when they said this and it allowed me to gain confidence in my interview skills.

In general, mock interviews are very beneficial to prepare you when you go out into the real world and are interviewed by real professionals for real jobs. Below I found a website with "4 Benefits of a Mock Interview". Please read, it is very informational.

"4 Benefits of a Mock Interview"

Pedgogical content knowledge, what's that?

·        Pedagogical content knowledge

o   Content knowledge= specific to social studies

o   General pedagogical knowledge= used in teaching all subject areas (ex. Classroom management skills)

o   Pedagogical content knowledge = knowledge of how to teach social studies

The What and Why of Social Studies

·        The category of social sciences includes history, geography, economics, psychology, anthropology, political science/civics and sociology

·        Whyà

o   To understand people and societies

o   To understand change and how the society we live in came to be

o   To understand the importance of history in our own lives

o   To understand how history contributes to moral understanding

o   To provide identity- cultural literacy: a shared history that is assumed all already know.

o   To become responsible citizens

o   To develop essential skills such as critical thinking, questioning, making connections, and adapting to new situations

o   To succeed in the world of work

·        Schools used to emphasize solely the memorization of facts à my childhood

·        Essential questions à Questions that make students think and do not have a “right” answer

·        Convergent questions à 1 answer, factual, 4 Ws (Who, what, when, and where)

·        Divergent questions à open ended questions, multiple answers

·        Certain skills needed for the 21^st century

o   Creativity

o   Innovation

o   Critical Thinking

o   Problem Solving

o   Communication

o   Collaboration

o   Information and Media Literacy

·        Five strands of Social Studies:

o   World History

o   US/NY History

o   Economics

o   Geography

o   Civics

·        Social Studies teaching and learning is powerful when it is meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active

Classroom Rules

·        Great idea to create a stronger community in the classroom

·        Quick and easy

·        Visual

·        Great to get to know other points of view

·        Good way to keep order in the classroom

o   Managed chaos

·        Create a standard for the rest of the year

·        From scholastic “Students are more like to buy into rules if they have a hand in creating them”

What is ExitTicket?

·        App

·        Pros outweigh the cons

o   Offers feedback on understanding

o   Tracks student progress

o   Reduces time for grading

o   Disadvantage- Assessment not available on the free version

·        Students were engaged and liked tracking their progress

·        Great way for teachers to see if students are keeping up or if re-teaching is necessary

·        Straightforward and every possible question is answered

·        “Simple solution in a short amount of time” à Allows teachers to spend more time on teaching

·        3 main strategies:

o    Teachers can begin each class with a review of the previous lesson’s content to check whether the students have absorbed the content of that lesson. This could mean a short mini-quiz on the homework, instead of collecting and grading it.

o   Teachers can ask students to use their app halfway through the lesson to check understanding and ask clarifying questions.

o   Teachers can use ExitTicket to ask the class to check their understanding at the end of the session.

·        Research à Leadership Public Schools measured its results after a year

o   Found that students jumped 2.6 grades in math

o   97% of students continued to college

o   Attribute progress to feedback which increased level of engagement

·        Nearpod

o   Gives teacher control over presentations and syncs with students

o   Allows student responses to presentations

o   Teacher can see student responses in real time

o   Gives students a chance to participate in the presentation rather than a teacher solely directing the presentation.

o   Limitation on file uploads à only allows pdfs

Artifact Bags are not only for Social Studies

An artifact bag is an activity in which items are placed in a bag that represent a certain place, person, or thing. For example, my class explored various artifacts that represented my professor's culture and history. By exploring the artifacts and researching we found that the items we received included a birth certificate, a porcelain napkin holder, and a decorative spoon. We came to the conclusion that all the items was a representation of my professor and her heritage.

Artifact bags can be used to demonstrate specific events such as wars, holidays, or current events. Artifact bags can also be used, as we discovered, to represent a person.

When I completed this activity in my classroom, I started to think of how I could use this in my elementary classroom one day. The first thing that came to mind, was to use this activity during the first day of class or sometime during the first week of class.

The way this can happen is in 3 steps:

1- Send a letter home asking for students to bring in a paper bag containing items that are important to them or that describe them in some way

2- Allow a week for students to bring in their bags, so each student has ample amounts of time to bring something in and participate in the activity.

3- Conduct the activity in class by forming small groups and passing out a bag to each group. Once each group has a bag, they will examine the artifacts, fill out a graphic organizer and use reasoning skills to come to a conclusion as to who the bag belongs to.

This is a great activity that is fun and engaging. The artifact bag assignment requires students to use critical thinking and problem solving skills. This can also be a great formative assessment tool. After a unit is completed, the artifact bag assignment can be used to test students as to how their knowledge of events or people can apply to the artifacts given.

In my classroom, each person was required to bring in an artifact bag that represents the lesson that we previously taught to the 5th grade at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. Since I did a lesson on Christopher Columbus and the New World, I decided to create my artifact bag to represent Christopher Columbus. The three objects in my artifact bag included a journal of Columbus' voyage, marbles to represent the glass beads that Columbus gave to the natives to assimilate them to Spanish culture, and a peseta with Christopher Columbus' picture on it. My classmates were given the objects and began examining and researching the artifacts. After about 5 minutes and analysis of their research, my classmates came to the correct conclusion that the artifacts represented Christopher Columbus.

Check out my Artifact Bag slideshow that demonstrates how you may present a specific artifact bag to your class.

The following article discusses the importance of artifacts and how they help us connect to the past:

"Saving pieces of history, one bullet or belt buckle at a time"

Models interacting in a social way

No, this post will not be about models about to strut the runway adorned in designer clothes that cost hundreds of dollars, this post will be about the models of social interactions within the classroom.

So what are the names of these models?

1.) Behavioral (To change behavior)
- Through practice and a controlled environment you can change behavior
-In this model you can develop skills and knowledge

2.) Information Processing (The teacher develops student information skills)
-Process, analyze, and reflect on information. Students are exploring and engaged in the Information Processing model

3.) Social Interactive (Develop student social skills)
-Group work

4.) Personal Interactive (Individual learning)
-Helps students develop self esteem and identity in the classroom
-Through individual projects, students are developing their skills

5 step inquiry lesson (This is a very important type of lesson to implement these models)

Direct Instruction is mostly teacher controlled, however Social Interactive model is more students gathering information, processing the information, and applying the information to various topics.

Case studies is a great way to implement this model! Students can explore and develop skills in a focused way.

"Inquiry, where students are lead by questions and questions never end." -Dr. Smirnova

In the following video notice one way that the social interactive model can be implemented in the classroom:

A Step Back

    Before moving any further into my journey, I'd like to take a step back and reflect on post and pre-test assessments. 

    In my research, I have found that pre and post tests are absolutely necessary to assess student knowledge and to monitor progress. 
According to Boston University, pre and post tests are a way "to quantify the knowledge attained in the class from a group of students with diverse learning styles and educational backgrounds". You can read the entire article of why pre and post tests should be used, when to test, why not to use them, how to write a test and how to collect the data here. 

    When working with my group to create pre-test and post-test questions, we struggled a bit because we were not sure of how much students actually comprehended and learned. We then realized that this is what the tests are for. 

    Since we were not the main teachers in the classroom and we did not know the students. The pre-test was the hardest to create. Because, we were unsure of what the students have been previously taught in related to our lessons we struggled to select questions that students would not be confused by. 

    In our findings, we realized that students may not understand everything that they are being taught and therefore the pre-test and post-test scores could be very similar, very different, or could be the same

                                          . 

Pinterest in the Classroom

Have you ever heard of Pinterest? If you haven't go check it out!

This website is great for not only find new outfits, some DIYS, or even a new recipe, but it is such a great resource for any teacher!

On Pinterest, there is a wide range of organization techniques, classroom set-ups, lesson plans, activities, and tips. In high school I started using this site and I now have a teacher board containing over 300 pins.

If you've never used Pinterest, fear not, it is easy to use.

Follow these 12 steps to become a Pinterest master:

Step 1- Sign up
Its free! You can sign up using your Facebook account or simply type in your email address and your desired password and click "Sign Up".

Step 2- Follow topics

Select any and all topics that interest you. You can even type in the search bar to find a specific topic.After selecting at least 5 interest, click "Done". 

Step 3- Newsfeed

You will now see your Newsfeed based on your selected interests. As you pin more, follow friends, and follow boards, more and more suggested pins will appear. 

Step 4- Create a board 

This is your page. As you create more boards, they will appear here. Time to create your first board. Select the option "Create a Board". A pop up window will appear. Type in a name for your board and select "Create". 

Step 5- Add a Pin 

Find something on your Newsfeed that you would like to save. Once you find something, click it. A pop up window will appear. Select "Pin it" in the top left corner. Next, select the board you would like to save it to. Click "Pin it" next to your selected board. 

Step 6- Continue Pinning!

Your pin is now saved for you to look at and reference later. Click the Pinterest logo in the top left corner to bring you back to your Newsfeed. Happy pinning! 

Here are some search terms to get you started:

* Lesson Plans

* Elementary Activities

* Classroom organization

* Managing Behavior

* Teacher tips 

Why do I do this?

I was seven years old on Christmas day 2002. I was old enough not to believe in Santa Claus but young enough to be too excited to fall asleep the night before. That morning, I opened my eyes and popped out of bed. I ran into my parents’ room and I shouted “Its Christmas! Let’s go open presents!” They slowly got out of bed and still half-asleep followed my brother and me as we raced down the steps. I opened all the smaller presents, while anxiously eyeing the large, brightly wrapped box that caught my eye when I first walked down the steps. When it came time, I ripped off all the paper and underneath it was a school teacher play set which came equipped with a paper clock with moveable arms, dry erase sheets, certificates, a chalkboard, chalk, and nametags. It was a gift that would unknowingly influence my future.

               My first students were only family but none-the-less it was a great opportunity to be able to teach them something they had never learned before. It’s hard to put into words witnessing their emotion when they finally “got it”. This ignited my passion for helping and teaching younger children, and I involved myself with teaching related activities since.

Since 7^th grade I’ve volunteered as a camp counselor at many different camps. These camps included Camp Invention, Vacation Bible School, and Summer Recreation. Working every day with the same group of kids taught me leadership and responsibility qualities.

In 9^th grade, I began assisting my dance teacher teach the kindergarten and 1^st grade class. The first day was overwhelming, but I realized preparation was key to good instruction.  After the first day’s struggles, things became easier. I began organizing the kids, starting the warm ups, and helping out anytime I could. It was so fulfilling to see the kids smile, laugh and have fun while learning their dance.

As a tutor, I help kids succeed. I help prepare them for tests and quizzes, usually, math. I meet with their teachers beforehand to prepare for the session. I use visual aids and extra practice worksheets to aid them. It’s an amazing feeling the moment they understand a topic and complete a problem without difficulty. I enjoy their satisfaction when they come back with a quiz that has a good grade on it.

To this day, I still have a passion to teach. The life of a teacher could be overwhelming and stressful, but I want it—I know the intrinsic rewards greatly outweigh the struggles. I want to be the one to help people, to help enrich their lives with learning, and become well rounded young adults. Ever since that 2002 Christmas morning I have been determined to achieve my goal to become an educator. It will be a long road, but I look forward to the challenge.

Nothing is ever perfect: A Fieldwork Reflection

    Teaching is a tricky thing. Sometimes you can think you are prepared when in reality you should have practiced about 20 more times. Lately, I learned a lot in my fieldwork experience in the 5th grade class at Bishop Dunn Memorial School.

    When my group taught our lesson on Christopher Columbus and the New World, we were the first group to go and we were confident about our lesson. We thought we were confident. As soon as we stepped in front of the class, we realized, or at least I realized how intimidating it is to step in front of a classroom with all eyes on you and you are responsible for shaping their minds and helping them learn. There are steps you must follow.

Step 1: Planning

    Sometimes planning can be very easy or very hard. If you have an idea and know exactly how you want the lesson to go, it can be an easy process. If you have no idea and all you know is the topic you want to teach on, it can be very difficult to come up with engaging, creative, stimulating, and interesting activities in include in your lessons in order to develop a deeper sense of understanding. 

Step 2: Teaching

    The teaching process is a tricky thing, like I said. Planning is an important aspect, but you can never know how that planning will relate in the classroom before you get there. It is important to know your students. We were absolutely at a disadvantage going into the classroom to teach a lesson because we had no prior knowledge about the certain group of students. When teaching, you can find out what works for certain students and what may not work for others.Our group had an idea of what we wanted to do, however we did not know how it would convey to the 5th grade students. The following groups could observe and see what methods seemed to work best for this specific group of students and therefore plan their lessons and activities accordingly. We did not have that opportunity. We were the first to go and I really highlight that because anytime you are the first, you are the rough draft. Before knowing the students, and before observing how you can alter the lesson to include technology and other types of activities, you can not be completely accurate.  You need to find a balance like a balanced scale. In one end you have how you are teaching and on the other end you have how students learn best. It is very important to find this balance because students learn differently. In this specific group, I realized that when students worked in a group, students didn't work as well because there was a lot of disagreement and fighting. Especially during the review Jeopardy game that we presented, students argued over point values and whether answers were correct of not.  It is important to also adapt to all situations. Life can throw so many things your way at all different times and you must be able to have at least 3 backup ideas at every moment. For example, the morning that I was scheduled to present my topic I found out that I did the wrong set of work and therefore was not prepared to teach anything. As my backup, I latched onto my fellow group member's part of the lesson and I worked with her to teach her section of the topic. Overall, this experience strengthened my love for teaching. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. That "got it" moment is what continues to strengthen my love for this career. 

Step 3: Students

    Like I said before, you MUST know your students and what works best in correlation to their learning styles. From this experience, I learned that some students loved learning and would constant ask and answer questions when other students were not interested at all and would, in turn, daydream or focus on other things. I also learned that some students like to take the lead, especially in group activities. Every time we had the students work in groups, one young lady would take charge and become very bossy. From that, if this was my classroom I may have had to work with a separate group of students or I would focus longer on what a team is or what "TEAM" may stand for. It is so important for students to work well in groups because it creates good social skills, communication skills, and an overall better way of learning. Mostly, the students of the 5th grade class seemed to enjoy hands-on activities. After a while of lecturing, students can get bored and start not paying attention. If you create an engaging and interesting assignment or even an engaging lesson, students are more likely to retain information and understand a topic better.

Step 4: Team Teaching

  I love team teaching. Team teaching is a great for emerging teachers. In the field, teachers are always relying on others such as principals, other teachers, or specialists in order to gain insight. Therefore, it is very important for teachers to be able to reach out to others and communicate accordingly. In my group, we all helped each other evolve our ideas and we each become responsible for our own work. Like I explained, sometimes things don't always go as planned and you must be able to realize your mistakes and move forward from them and also learn from them. By having more than one teacher in the classroom it allows for students to connect with different personalities. In another group, one teacher candidate was very enthusiastic and was very active throughout the room, I noticed that more students in the classroom seemed to respond more to this type of teacher rather than other teacher candidates who stood in the front of the room and solely talked about the information.

Assessment = Tests, WRONG!

Tests are just a part of assessment, but they are not the be all, end all. 
Definition-  The process of gathering and discussing information on student progress.

There are many components linked to assessment:

1.) Evaluation - interpretation of the collected data. By giving students a grade, you are evaluating them.

2) Measurement - a system of measures used to assess students progress. 

3) Feedback - If a student can receive accurate feedback it can truly help a student improve themselves and their abilities in the classroom. 

There are also 3 different types of assessment:

1.) Diagnostic (Finding out)= Pre-Assessment tool which assesses a student's prior knowledge on a topic.
Examples- KWL, checklists, self-evaluation, etc. 

2.) Formative (Keeping track & Checking-up)= Ongoing informal feedback on a student's performance that helps students improve.
Examples- Exit tickets, graphic organizers, observation, etc. 

3.) Summative (Making Sure)= Post-Assessment tests that attempt to "summarize" what a student has learned. 
Examples- Unit test, project presentation, demonstration, etc. 

There is also:

Authentic Assessment- Authentic="real". Students must realize the meaning of what they are doing and they can use this experience in their real lives. 

What is it like?
 * Learning by doing
 * Student participation
 * Student applys abilities
 * A gift
 * Multi-dimensional

What is it not like?
* Punishment
* Mono-dimensional

What can be assessed?

Readiness- Skill and content knowledge 
* If students are not ready they will not absorb knowledge and information. 

Interest- Interest surveys, interest centers, and self-selection. 
* Great way to keep students interested and more linked into their personalities. 

Learning Profile- Areas of strengths and weaknesses, work preferences, and self awareness.
* Useful when trying to engage students in the classroom.