Assessments are one of the ways by which one of the ways by which a teacher can understand the level of understanding of his or her students. Through assessments, a teacher can be able to obtain valuable information that would lead to the identification of individual learning needs. Assessments also indicate which lessons to reteach or emphasize and the strategies to employ to improve the teaching and learning process. In my classrooms, I would occasionally issue assessments to the students to assess their level of understanding and also to determine which strategies to use in learning. Before commencing my lessons, I always conduct pre-assessments, which are aimed at assessing the students’ prior knowledge of the lesson. Assessing for this knowledge informs my instructional methods.
The other forms of assessment that I would use include the formative assessment and summative assessment. Whereas the formative assessment is issued during the lesson, the summative assessment is issued at the end of the topic. I find that these assessments to gain an understanding of my teaching and also assess the student’s level of understanding. In conducting these assessments, I would make use of the technological options such as the use of iPads and interactive white boards to administer the assessments. I always make sure to assess my students as this is a sure way of understanding my teaching and learning processes of the learners.
In my lessons, I also strive to accommodate the needs of the special needs students. Such students include students with eyesight and hearing problems, dyslexic and those with ADHD among many other issues. To cater for their needs, I would use accommodations to facilitate their learning. Also, I make an effort to schedule extra classes for them so as to explain in detail the concepts that I taught in class. In so doing, the students are able to catch up with the rest of the students and retain the subject matter.
