Teachers from around the province met in Winnipeg Dec. 3 & 4 to participate in roundtable discussions regarding Grade 3 assessment.
Ideas were shared, questions were examined and numerous topics were discussed, such as: How do we help students set learning goals? What strategies have you used in the classroom to help your students meet specific competencies (specifically in the areas of reading comprehension and numeracy)? How do you adapt your teaching strategies to meet the needs of learners? How can we teach different competencies from a First Nations perspective?
Margaret Hart, Mathematics Specialist with the MFNERC reiterated the importance of student assessment in the classroom, “If we just teach everything one way, we’ll lose the students. We have to learn their specific needs and instruct to those needs…We can’t look at them as ‘students’. We have to look at each one as an individual student.”
The teachers also shared personal stories and experiences. One vivid example came from Otter Nelson River School. Teacher Katie Muskego demonstrated what they were doing with classroom based assessment to meet the needs of students who are reported as “out of range”. It reminded everyone that “Every child can succeed in the classroom.”
For more information on the MFNERC’s Student Assessment Program please contact Brenda Delorme, Assessment Program Manager, brendad@mfnerc.com
