• Read Chapter 10.
• View VoiceThread on Affective Assessment.
• View What is Bloom’s Affective Domain video (YouTube).
• View Learning Domains video (YouTube).
• View Rita Pierson TED Talk video (You Tube).
• Field Experience Tip: Arrange to meet with your local school guidance counselor. Talk about affective assessment and why it’s important. Ask for ways in which the counselor is helping teachers and students relative to affective development and assessment. Are there special programs, trainings, or activities? What resources can the counselor recommend to you, such as a quality affective inventory?

Initial Post:

Provide the following, either in a written DB post or in a presentation of your choice:

• Why is keeping a close eye on your students’ affect important? In your response, include at least 3 pieces of information from Popham, your other learning resources, or a local school counselor.
• How will you partner with parents/caregivers if you have concerns about a student’s affect? Be specific.
• How will you partner with other school personnel in your building if you have concerns about a particular student’s affect? Be specific.
• Create your own affective inventory for your students based on what you learned from Popham and other resources.

Responses to Colleagues:

Read, consider, and respond to at least 2 of your colleagues’ initial posts. What feedback can you offer to them to help them become a better teacher? Are there practical resources about affective development or affective assessment that you can recommend to them?

Here is the book:

Popham, W.J. (2020). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. (9th ed.). New York: Pearson. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-556910-8

Reply:

1.

As Popham describes in his book, affective variables such as students attitudes toward learning, their moral values such as truthfulness and integrity among other things are just as important as cognitive variables. Popham offers the example of a student who excels in math cognitively but has no motivation or want to do well in the classroom, this student most likely will be out performed by a student who may not be as cognitively skilled but has a high intrinsic motivation to do well. If a teacher is unaware of the low motivation or sense of self from a student, they are unable to give aide to the situation. If they do know and are creating pretest and posttest scenarios, they may be able to aide students with their view on school to help them be the best versions of themselves. Another reason Popham claims that recognizing affective variables and their affect on students is because teachers will be able to adjust their instruction in accordance with how students are feeling about the topic. Popham gives the example of a teacher surveying her students interest of taking college physics classes and how the percentage changes depending on her instruction. It is important to pay attention to students affect especially regarding their sense of self and attitude toward school to keep them motivated and willing to learn without disregarding their personal needs and emotions.

I believe that communication about a student’s attitude should start with the student. I believe that without getting an accurate gauge of how they are truly feeling without being bombarded with a parent/ caregivers opinion of the situation is important. However, if I believe there is a larger issue than something that can be fixed with the student- parents/caregivers will be my next line of defense. Presenting evidence of change in behavior or worsening of already struggling behavior will be beneficial for communication with those who are responsible for students. As I have learned working as a substitute and being mentored by already working teachers, their experiences with teachers is often loaded with denial. You can often see a stark difference in the behavior of students in the classroom and at home, so I would first present evidence then devise a plan that would be beneficial for students. I would put this plan into action with the student then formally assess their change in whatever affect variable I am attempting to measure and change.

I believe that social workers and counselors are great resources for both teachers and students as they have additional resources and training in matters such as sense of self and motivation. I would devise this plan I previously spoke with in accordance to how they feel a students needs will be best met. Whether this be an alternative method of learning or extra resources be offered or even regular therapy to help them work through their feelings. I believe a listening and judgement free ear fixes a lot of problems. If there are behavioral problems that do not cease after counselors, social workers and parents/ caregivers are involved I will use administration for appropriate punishment as needed.

Directions: Based on the statements listed below, respond with the indicated responses (Somewhat true, true, very true, somewhat false, false, very false) as to how you feel personally. Use X’s or check marks. Do not include any identification.

Example:

Responses (select one)

trueveryfalsevery

true true

Ex: I enjoy being in a classroom. [ ] [ ][ ] [ ]

Statements:

• I like going to school.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• I feel safe being at school.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• I feel good about myself at school.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• I know my worth is not based on school.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• I only enjoy certain subjects. [ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• I only enjoy spending time with my friends when I’m at school.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]
• My teachers pay attention to my mood daily.[ ][ ] [ ][ ]

2.

Chapter 10 Discussion Board: Affective Assessment

Why is keeping a close eye on your students’ affect important?

• Teachers need to keep a close eye on the students’ affect because it involves their “attitudes, interests, and values” (Popham, p. 244). Some students lose the excitement they use to have about coming to school because they have fallen behind. They lose motivation and encouragement as well with that. As teachers, we need to see what their attitudes, interests, and values are because it does play a role in their academics. “The presence of affective post instruction measurement will incline you to include affectively focused activities in your instruction” (Popham, p. 246). We want students to look forward to coming to school. We should do our best to understand their feelings (appropriately) to be able to fit their needs. It is also good to have a check-in periodically with your students to see their attitudes towards your course. If interests in your course start declining, you need to know that to be able to see what changes you can make to get the students interested again. “Periodic monitoring of your students’ affective status can help you determine what sorts of shifts in your instructional program might be needed” (Popham, p. 247).
• Parents/guardians are essential in helping with their child’s education. We all want to create a positive learning environment for the student. I want to keep my students’ parents involved in their child’s education. If one of my students start having problems with their affect, I want to have a good relationship with the parent, so I am able to talk to them effectively and come up with a solution for the child. I will do this by updating the parents often (every 2-4 weeks), keep documentation of their child’s work, and meeting with them whenever it is needed. As the teacher, I need to keep that relationship well with the parent so we can help the student the best that we can.
• Similar to the relationship between the parents and I, I need to have a good relationship with my coworkers. If I start seeing one of my students’ affect declining, I will talk with the other teachers to see if that student’s affect is also declining in their classroom as well. I want to see if it’s just an issue in my classroom or if it’s an issue in all of the student’s classrooms. If it is an issue in all of the classes, then I want to meet with them for us to come up with a plan of what we could all do to increase the student’s affect. If it is only in my classroom, I want to meet with the student and/or parent to see what I could do better to increase the student’s affect. If nothing changes, I will then take it to an administrator to see what other options I could try. I want my students to be enthusiastic about school, but I know that I can’t do everything on my own. That’s why I need to keep a good relationship with my coworkers, so they are able to help me when I need it.

How will you partner with parents/caregivers if you have concerns about a students’ affect?

How will you partner with other school personnel in your building if you have concerns about a particular students’ affect?

Affective Inventory

Statements`

True for me

Not true for me

I’m not sure

I like school

I like to write

I like to read

I like math

I like science

I like history

I want to go to college

I like school activities

I like activities that aren’t related to school

I like to learn

References

Popham, W.J. (2020). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. (9th ed.). New York: Pearson.

3.

Chapter 10: Affective Assessment

• Why is keeping a close eye on your students’ affect important?
• How will you partner with parents/caregivers if you have concerns about a student’s affect?
• How will you partner with other school personnel in your building if you have concerns about a particular student’s affect?
• First, I would like to start off with what the students’ affect is. It is “students’ attitudes, interests, and values” (Popham, p.244). It is important for teachers to keep a close eye on their students’ affect because it can help them better understand why the students aren’t learning the material as well or what they can do to make the students more interested in the learning. You need to keep a close eye on this because “students’ attitudes towards learning, for example, play a major role in how much learning those students subsequently pursue” (Popham, p.244). If a student believes that they are not good at something, then they will not work their best on it, “Students who can compose outstanding essays, but believe they are ‘really rotten writers’, typically won’t spend much time eagerly churning out essays” (Popham, p.245). So, if we as teachers know their attitudes toward such things, we can help them change their mindset about it.
• If I have concerns about a student’s affects, and I think I need to partner with their parents/caregivers, I will of course at the beginning of the year have talked to the parents/caregiver to start off a transparent and good relationship. Since I have started off with a good relationship with them, I would email/text them and express my concern about their child. Once I do that, I would like to request a time for them to meet with me one-on-one because I feel like there is no better communication than in person. When we are in the meeting, I will go over my concerns about their child’s affect and ask them what the best way they feel like to help them is the best. They do know their child better than anyone else, so I would love to know their insight on how to help their child’s attitude, values, or interest about learning. Once me and the parent/caregiver create a good plan for at school and home, I will give them updates on how it is working throughout the whole plan. As a teacher my ultimate goal is to help students not only learn but enjoy learning as well.
• If I have a concern about a particular student’s affect, I will also need to partner with other school personnel. That would be my fellow teachers or even the counselor or principal. “If teachers actually decide to measure important student affect, they’ll typically need some solid professional-development support to learn how to modify students’ attitudes, values, and interests” (Popham, p.262). I would partner with my fellow teachers first to see if any of them have come across this same affect with one of their students and see how they helped the student work through it. If they haven’t, then we could all brainstorm together different options on how to help this students’ affect. I could also go to the counselor or principle because they could know way to help me work through this student’s affect. Communication and help from others are one of the best things you can do as a teacher to help your students.

All About Me

Please answer the following statements as yes you agree, kind of you sometimes agree, or no you do not agree at all. There are no right or wrong answers, so please answer honestly. This is to help me better understand you to help you learn your best. Only answer with one X for each answer.

Statement

Yes

Kind of

No

I like school a lot.

I like reading.

I like writing.

I like math.

I like science.

I like to speak in front of the class

I like social studies.

I like to work with others.

I like to work alone.

I like when the teacher reads aloud.

I like to get up and move around to work

Reference

Popham, W.J. (2020). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. (9th ed.). New York: Pearson.