Metacognition

Brian Dennehey

EDF2005

Critique #1

September 19th, 2005

Stanford, P., & Reeves, S. (2005). Assessment That Drives Instruction. Teaching

Exceptional Children, 37(4), 18-22. Retrieved September 19th, 2005, from

Academic Search Premier database.

Two challenging aspects of inclusive education are knowing what to teach children with learning disabilities and knowing how to teach the material. But, how do teachers maximize instruction for students with special needs in general education classrooms? The answer may lie in effective and appropriate assessment, including rubrics, T-charts, and checklists for students.

Assessment drives instruction, but assessments often lack the primary goal of guiding instructional decisions. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the U.S. Department of Education, educators must assess learners with disabilities within the general education curriculum. The students must also show progress so that they can meet educational standards. Such assessment strategies such as rubrics, T-charts, and checklists will help meet the need of every learner in the classroom.

A rubric, which is a set of criteria that outlines expectations for a completed product, can serve as an effective basis for assessment. A rubric also identifies performance competencies that separate student performance into a number of interrelated instructional concerns. In using a rubric as an assessment technique, students gain a common focus of instruction and the teacher maintains a basis for relating progress and performance within the context of metacognition.

A T-chart is an assessment tool that easily indicates behavioral goals or objectives. The T-chart is designed to ask the learner what appropriate behavior looks like and sounds like. This helps the learner to understand clearly what is expected of them. Also, with using this technique the teacher and student have defined expectations within the vocabulary of the learner.

After developing and monitoring the T-chart, educators can derive a more concrete assessment from it. A checklist that is based on a T-chart can help facilitate the growth and development