Standard+8

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The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.
 * Standard 8: Teachers know how to test for student progress.**


 * Evidence**: [|iPod Lesson Plan.doc]


 * Rationale:** This lesson plan was created for my high school Applied Algebra class. Students will learn about simple interest and how it applies to their lives. They will explore how different interest rates and loan periods affect monthly payments and total owed on a purchase. I spend a few class periods going over simple interest with the students. At the end of the simple interest unit students will complete the following as assessments for the unit. Students will use the Internet to find their dream car and dream home. They will use a spreadsheet application on their iPods to record the principle, interest rate, annual interest, total interest, total owed and monthly payments. They will complete this information for a 3, 4, and 5 year loan. They can use the interest rates that I provided them or they can search local banks or credit unions for a better interest rate. Students will also create a podcast that describes their results. They will include what their dream car/ dream home is, what type loan they chose and why, what their monthly payments are, etc. Students will present what they did to the rest of the class and will have to fill out a peer assessment and self-assessment form.

Students love being able to pick out their dream car and dream house and apply the skills they learned in class to something that is of interest to them. Many of them are at the age where they are driving or are going to be driving and this lesson brings into perspective what they would have to pay and what they can realistically afford. I am always surprised at how little they know when it comes to interest and loans. I really enjoy doing this activity because all of my students will need to know this information and will use it in their lives and they see the relevance it has in their own lives. This lesson helped me grow as an educator because I went out on a limb and did something that I do not usually do. I learned with my students as we went through this lesson and it was great to do something different that the students really enjoyed and and made the content meaningful to them.


 * KSD:**

This lesson does a great job of assessing student learning because students have to apply what they learned to problems they will encounter in real life. I think that having this assessment as an option over a written test is great because it goes beyond just basic knowledge. Students have to figure out what a monthly payment on a car or house would be which takes the information they learned one step further. It really helps those students who do not perform well on tests and allows them to show me what they have learned in a more creative way.
 * 8.K.2 The teacher knows how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments appropriate to the learning outcomes being evaluated and to other diagnostic purposes.**

In Math class it is very easy to just always give a written test as the only form of assessment so I really try to use different form of assessments so that I meet the diverse needs of my students. I think this lesson plan does a great job of assessing what the students learned by having them apply it to a real world problem. Students are not only being assessed on their projects but they are also doing peer and self-assessments.
 * 8.S.1 The teacher appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessment techniques (e.g. observation, portfolios of student work, teacher-made tests, performance tasks, projects, students self-assessments, peer assessment, and standardized tests) to enhance her or his knowledge of learners, evaluate students' progress and performances, and modify teaching and learning strategies.**

This lesson really helped me see that choosing the right assessments and a variety of assessments is very important in accurately assessing student knowledge. Many of the students who do not usually perform well on written tests did a great job on this project. They were able to show me and apply the information they learned in a different way. For this reason I think its important to use different kinds of assessment so that the learning styles of each student is met.
 * 8.D.1 The teacher values ongoing assessment as essential to the instructional process and recognizes that many different assessment strategies, accurately and systematically used, are necessary for monitoring and promoting student learning.**