ore commonly known as the OGTs. I worked with the same student, who for this blog I will be referring to as Cora, that I did during my Principles of Teaching experience. This semester, I was glad that I actually had time where we just sat down and worked on test preparation. Last semester during the Principles of Teaching Field Experience, I really did not get to do more than just shadow my student. I feel that this semester really gave me the opportunity to work on actually teaching.One way that test preparation could be infused into the classroom with multi-modality in mind is through the use of computers. I think that using the computer as a way to administer practice tests might be a way to relieve some anxiety that might come from just having a test booklet and pencil in front of the tester. Since students may feel more comfortable using a computer because they may be using social networking sites or other texts online, they might not be as anxious when taking the test. My student, Cora, had told me that she did not like taking tests. When I asked her why she said something to the effect that she did not like the whole testing process where one just sits in a chair with pencils and paper and that the process made her anxious.
During my Modeling Algebra course in college, we used an online website to work on homework and lessons. Basically, it was either multiple choice or short answer questions that we would have to answer. If we did not understand how to do a problem, you could use the “Help Me” button and the program would go step by step with you through the problem. When you were finished with the help section, the program would give you a similar problem with different numbers to work out. I think that this kind of multimodality would be very beneficial to the students. In addition, another bonus from these online math problems was that the numbers for each student was different so that way students would be unable to copy someone else’s answers to the homework. It allowed for us to be able to work on problems in class and not cheat so that way we were really learning.
Cora had a lot of problems with Math. When we were working on English and Social Studies, she did very well and would have passed those tests. For those tests, I think she just really needed to work on her active reading skills. I think that Cora would have benefited greatly from an online math program, like the one I used with my Modeling Algebra class. She would be able to get the detailed help on how to solve the problems better than I could explain to her.
I think Multimodality for test preparation in this form could start at an early age through the use of computer programs such as these. I think that if there were a way to provide students with some type of software at a young age such as the Jump Start programs or something similar, it would really help them learn and enhance their knowledge that they learn in school. If students could get started with test preparation early, then in high school, teachers would not have to be playing catch up with it. I feel that by using educational video games at home, in my personal experience, it really gave me a leg up on test taking and classes in general. I know that in grade school, students will take tests such as the CAT or IOWA tests but the grade school teachers should be working on test preparation skills then. I never learned any type of test preparation skills in grade school. The only thing remotely close to test preparation was “Use a test to take a test.” I think if teachers in elementary and middle school really started the students learning how to read texts for a test then students across the board would be performing better.
While I was at Firestone, I saw no real multimodality incorporated into the classroom for test preparation. In the English class I observed, they were in a weeklong unit on the Writing section of the OGTs. It was taught the “traditional” way through lecture and an overhead projector. There was not much engagement on the student’s part. I think it would have been a cool idea to create a game where students would work together in groups on writing prompts. Each group would work on developing a writing prompt and then create a project or electronic presentation showing how each group would tackle their prompt and the writing process. At the end of each presentation, the class could have a discussion on what they thought would work in an essay and why as wells as what they thought might not work in an essay and why.
Another way I would like to incorporate multimodality into my classroom would be to really work on active reading, possibly through the use of a WebQuest. I think that a WebQuest would be a fantastic way to get students working independently on active reading skills. I have seen a few times where teaching active reading is either a whole group or small group kind of activity. Students really need to learn how to actively read independently because that is a skill they will need when taking a standardized test. HERE is a link to a nice list of WebQuests that I found on the web for high school literature classes.
Something that I find somewhat disturbing is the tension that exists between the emphasis on test preparation and the expanding definition of literacy. Yes, standardized tests are there so that some form of learning can be measured. Yet, I feel that when I was observing classrooms during my Principles class, I noticed a lot of teachers saying things to the effect of “You need to know this to pass the OGTs/ the test.” I feel that some teachers are only looking at that reason to learn the information instead of creating authentic learning experiences where students learn the material and also discover more about themselves. Literacy is not just “learn all of this information out of a book” anymore. I think that some day in the future, the OGTs should be reexamined to incorporate the different types of literacies out there. I think that the classroom should also be reconfigured to incorporate different texts. It would be ideal if every classroom could have a fusion of the traditional texts and the new texts so that the students could have authentic learning experiences that reflect the growing and changing world around them.
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