Assessment – Page 5 – Angela Stockman

In Assessment

Initial Reflections on a Decade’s Worth of “Data Dialogue”

March 3, 2013 2 Mins Read

Over the last decade, I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate an awful lot of data dialogue inside of many different schools with many different kinds of teachers and leaders. These are some worthwhile reflections that are giving me pause as I continue moving the teams I’ve established forward: Some educators distinguish themselves as data-driven and others distinguish themselves as data-informed. Others don’t distinguish themselves in any particular way. Distinctions are critical. So is language. So…

In Assessment

Inquiry Teams: Beginning Where You Are

March 1, 2013 3 Mins Read

When I first began learning how groups of teachers might use data to empower practice and serve kids better, most of the models I studied felt very linear and seemed to be driven by trends in standardized assessment data. A decade ago, I used to spend quite a bit of time helping teachers make meaning from this kind of data, and then we would design common formative assessments that were much like the tests…

In Assessment

The Inquiring Writing Teacher

February 28, 2013 1 Min Read

Wellsville Middle and High School English teachers began inquiry work within collegial learning circles three years ago. What they accomplished for writers that year and what they’ve continued to accomplish as a result of their collegiality is nothing short of inspiring. These inquiry groups grew out of the staff’s desire to learn with and from one another. Like any staff, some have been more invested in this work than others, and like any investment, those…

In Change

Cultivating Capacity with Quiet Leadership

June 24, 2011 8 Mins Read

On Tuesday of this week, I was invited to attend a Board of Education meeting at Wellsville Central School to share a bit about the professional learning opportunities I’ve begun to facilitate there. As my description of the year’s events drew to a close, members of the Board opened a thoughtful conversation about sustainability, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated this. It wasn’t the fact that members of a BOE were…

In Change

June is for Gratitude

June 22, 2011 5 Mins Read

June is my favorite month on the calendar. I get to spend these weeks bringing closure to the work that was done during the school year, working with teams to evaluate our progress and set new goals, and most importantly, celebrating all that has been accomplished and all that I have learned from the incredible (truly they are) teachers and coaches and administrators and students I get to work with throughout the year. It’s been…

In Assessment

What Kindergarteners Can Teach Us About Research, Creating Content, and Connected Learning: Part 4

May 22, 2011 5 Mins Read

This post is the fourth in a series about research and writing in Heather Bitka’s kindergarten classroom. To learn more about this project’s purpose and outcomes, you might want to read the first post. If you are interested in understanding how this project enabled the teachers and coaches involved to position themselves as learners, you can click through to the second post. This post demonstrates the beginning of instruction, where researchers applied strategies that helped…

In Assessment

What Kindergarteners Can Teach Us About Research, Creating Content, and Connected Learning: Part 3

May 18, 2011 5 Mins Read

“What have we been studying in kindergarten this spring?” Heather asked her students. “Things that hatch!” They sang. “And how have we been doing that?” Heather asked. A jumble of ideas poured out of them at once, and fingers were pointing to different corners of the room, where a bunch of creatures were in the process of hatching: “Today, we’re going to take the next step in our learning. We’re going to become researchers.…

In Assessment

What Kindergarteners Can Teach Us About Research, Creating Content, and Connected Learning: Part 2

May 17, 2011 3 Mins Read

Today’s post is the second in a series relevant to the learning that has transpired in Lockport teacher Heather Bitka’s kindergarten classroom this spring. I introduced Heather in this post. The prologue to this learning experience, which explains our work as co-learners with greater depth, can be found here. This post speaks to the common questions that began provoking us right from the start and what the adults involved hoped the kindergarteners would know and…

In Assessment

An Evening with Douglas Fisher

May 3, 2011 3 Mins Read

Last night, I attended Doug Fisher’s presentation Feed Forward: Taking Action on Formative Assessments at Buffalo State College. Resources and materials from that presentation and many others are here. Some quick take-aways that have yet to settle but will no doubt inform future discussions with teachers and administrators: It’s very popular to apply solutions to perceived reading problems before we’ve accurately defined what the problem may really be. For example, it’s easy to assume that…

In Assessment

Jessica Gentner: A Talented WNY Educator

April 26, 2011 5 Mins Read

Jessica Gentner, Fifth Grade Teacher at Lindbergh Elementary School in Kenmore, New York Parent-teacher conferences were different for our family this year, thanks to our school district’s recent decision to move toward standards-based grading and report cards at the elementary level and this very talented teacher’s thoughtful use of formative assessment processes. Jessica Gentner is our daughter Nina’s fifth grade teacher. Quite a few parents are more than impressed by the fact that she knows…