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Teacher Interview Reflection

Mrs. Obi Kalu, originally from Nigeria, has been teaching in the United States for fifteen years.
During this time, she has taught from grades second to fifth covering all areas of study. She recently
made a move from Mellichamp Elementary School to Marshall Elementary School. She is currently a
third grade teacher of a gifted and talented math and science class at Marshall Elementary School in
Orangeburg consolidated school district five. When asked about the change of schools, She says that
she was excited for something new.
Mrs. Kalu has created and administered her fair share of assessments. When asked how she
chooses which types of pre-assessment to give to her students, Mrs. Kalu says that she uses those that
are based on South Carolina state standards. The results of these pre-assessments are useful for many
reasons. When asked how they influenced the organization of her classroom, she says that the preassessments helped her identify her students' current knowledge of a subject, their skills sets and
capabilities, their strengthens and weaknesses, and to clarify misunderstandings before she begins
instruction. Using the results, Mrs. Kalu groups her students according to the skills that they lack and
is able to determine which students need the most support, and those that need to be enriched. During
observation, I was able to see the way Mrs. Kalu used the results to organize her classroom. I could
clearly see that students were strategically placed based on their needs. I observed Mrs. Kalu providing
extra support for those in need and challenging the students that needed more work.
Pre-assessments also play a role in the way a teacher chooses to instruct his or her students.
When asked how these results influence her instructional strategies, Mrs. Kalu says that she is better
able to plan what to teach and how to teach it when she is aware of her students; strengths and
weaknesses. She says that during instruction she uses the strategist that she observed her students using
during their pre-assessments. She was also able to observe the misunderstandings that the students had
and was able to plan for clarification. Using the results from pre-assessments, Mrs. Kalu was better
able to effectively plan for meeting the student's goals.

Each teacher has their own preferences for the types of assessments that they feel are most
valuable. When asked whether formative or summative assessments were more meaningful, Mrs. Kalu
said that she finds formative assessments more beneficial because these types of assessment provide
feedback and information about student understanding during the instructional process, while learning
is occurring. Additionally, She says that formative assessments not only measure students progress, but
also a teachers progress as an instructor. Formative assessments allow for teachers to be reflective of
their own techniques and to provide feedback for student techniques.
When creating assessments it is important to consider how students will demonstrate their
knowledge. Mrs. Kalu says that choosing authentic assessments depends on the student's learning styles
and what she is looking for. During my observation, I noticed that students had a portfolio for both
math and science. Each time they completed a major assignment, they added it to their portfolio. When
asked how the learning targets are reflected in the assessments, Mrs. Kalu says it is important to test
what she teaches and the way she teaches it. She also says that the level of cognitive demand for her
assessments are based on the state standards and the students level of ability.
Creating and administering assessments is not easy tasks because there are so many aspects to
consider. One thing to consider is what types of pre-assessments to give students. This is important
because they provide the teacher with information about their students and how to instruct them. Once
pre-assessments have been administered, teacher must decide how to use this information. During
instruction, teachers use formative assessments to monitor the students progress, their own progress,
and to provide feedback to their students. Formative assessments are beneficial because they allow the
teacher to make instructional decisions to better enhance their teaching. Summative assessments will be
administered at the end of instruction. These assessments are useful for documenting student
performance. They are also used to monitor and record student proficiency, to give students grades,
report to parents, for selection into special programs, for receiving honors, establishing a record, and
for evaluating teachers.

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