What are diagnostic assessments?
Diagnostic assessments are a way of assessing what students know in a particular topic. This is usually done before new material is presented in order to observe what the students know from previous learning. Diagnostic assessments also provide the teacher with a general idea of which students may need additional support throughout the mathematics instruction. Therefore, these assessments can assist the teacher when determining how to differentiate the learning within a classroom.
Gap Closing
Gap closing is a type of diagnostic assessment that can be used in a mathematics classroom. It is usually given to students who may need additional support in a certain topic. However, a teacher may decide to give it to her entire class if he/she believes that many students are not where they should be in mathematics. On edugains.ca there are diagnostic resources and a set of intervention materials provided for each topic.
This past week, we were asked to complete one of the gap closing diagnostic assessments in partners. The assessment had questions that were very different from each other and this allows the teacher to observe which type of questions the student may be struggling with. For example, a student may understand all of the visual components of a topic but struggle with the mathematical procedures and computations. Once the diagnostic assessments have been assessed, it provides the teacher with useful information about which parts of the topic the student does not understand. For each topic, edugains.ca provides a chart in the Facilitator’s Guide that outlines the specific part of the topic that students do not understand. It also suggests which intervention materials to use with the student which personalizes the instruction based on the student’s diagnostic assessment.
Small, Marian. (2010). Gap Closing: Number Sense (Junior/Intermediate Facilitator's Guide).
I especially like how this chart is provided for teachers because it pinpoints exactly where the student needs support, rather than simply skimming all concepts of a mathematical topic. Having all students that need additional support complete the same work is problematic because every student learns in a different way and has different strengths. For example, when using the gap closing resource, a student who only struggles with one aspect of a topic will not have to complete each and every ‘Think Sheet’ related to the topic. Think Sheets are provided on the edugains.ca website and are accompanied by solution sheets, questions to ask before the instruction, how to use the think sheet themselves, and consolidating and reflection questions. These documents demonstrate how the teacher plays a large role in the student’s success. The student must be guided by a facilitator to understand the concepts that they currently do not understand. Therefore, it is evident that this instruction must be differentiated for each and every students.
As a future educator, I worry about how I will be able to reach the students in my class that may need additional support. However, diagnostic assessments, such as the gap closing assessment, are a great way to determine the specific area that those students may need support. I look forward to using this resource in my future classes because the diagnostic assessment results allow for personalized instruction.
Resources
Small, Marian. (2010). Gap Closing: Number Sense (Junior/Intermediate Facilitator's Guide). Retrieved from: edugains.ca
Hey Laura! I completely agree with you in the sense that I too worry about reaching all the students in my classroom! I also agree that the chart you posted was an important aspect of the gap closing document that we explored! I'm curious if you think there are any other ways that we could use it? Instead of simply distributing the entire test I think it could be interesting to give just the questions outlined under a specific section. For example, it may be beneficial to give questions 3d, e and f if a student is struggling with improper fractions on your tests. You could then compare the two results and ensure it is not simply your wording or examples that are confusing the student. I think it would be interesting to see this document used in more ways then simply as a diagnostic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing!
Hey Kyle! I loved your point about comparing results for a specific section of the test. As future educators, it is important to always reflect on the assessments we have made and ensure that we are creating questions that students understand. Questions that are not worded properly are unable to assess the students mathematical knowledge because they may not understand the way in which we are asking the question. Therefore, I do think it is a great idea to use this resource as a way to assess your own teaching!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Laura