Assessments in Math Reflection

This class truly opened my eyes to a multitude of ways to assess mathematics that I had not previously experienced. One main facet in the math classroom that can be used as a form of informal assessment that I had not thought would be an important part of learning math is discussion. Whether it contains the whole class, small groups, or student pairs, allowing the students to communicate their ideas and listen to the suggestions of their peers is an important step in helping them to fully understand a concept. When it comes to more of a formal assessment, I think that mathematics tends to fall in the routine of paper and pencil testing. However, this class let me see that students can be even more thoroughly assessed through completing a project or solving a question that has multiple parts where the student is required to justify their answers as part of their evaluation. In class, we were even assessed in many ways such as through blogging, individual and group projects, as well as an interview. I am confident that I now have the knowledge and ability to continue to create authentic assessments for my future students as I have been doing throughout this class.