Pre-Assessment and Differentiation

It has been a while, but I am back in Teach-Now learning mode! Today's topic is:
Giving my young Kindergarten learners a pre-assessment and then using it to differentiate their learning for the different groups that might arise out of it. But first, let's start with our current world situation.

DistanceLearning

As we all know, because of... let's just call it "V..." the whole world has had to change a lot these past few months. My field has also had to change. The biggest change for us educators has been moving our classrooms to an online space, Distance Learning. Not being able to meet our students in person has made it so that schools all over the world have had to come up with new ways to help our students grow. Let's start by taking a look at how I pre-assessed my students for their first Unit online!

PreAssessment

Because of the new classroom environment, our school decided to make our new Unit be a review of what we had already learned, Phase 2 Phonics (based on the UK curriculum, Letters and Sounds). However, because of V, my students had been out of their (real-life) classroom about a month by the time we met again in our virtual classroom. Since they are so young, I wanted to give them a pre-assessment to see how much they remembered before we dove back in to our lessons. In our virtual classrooms, my co-teacher and I decided to split the class up so that I could administer the pre-assessments. I took a group of 4-5 students, while she took the rest of the class and they worked on something else. Then, we would rotate the remaining students around, until all students took the pre-assessment with me.

For our pre-assessment, I chose to go with our "Mini Whiteboard Time." My students know what "Mini Whiteboard Time" is. I ask my students a question (or simply state what I want from them) and they write (or draw) their answers on their mini whiteboards and show them to me. Although, since most students do not have a mini whiteboard at home, they did this with good old-fashioned paper. During our small group session, I would sound out words and "silly words" (not real words) and students had to write the letters they heard on their mini whiteboards (e.g., "What sounds do you hear when I say C-C-C A-A-A T-T-T?" Students should then write the letters C, A, and T) and then show me their answers. I would then take note of how many students seemed to remember the sounds of the letters and/or what sounds/letters students had problems with.

ThreeGroups

*Note: all students are ELL's from China.
Thanks to my pre-assessment, I was able to see that my students fell into one of three groups:
1.) 5 students got almost all the questions right. They have almost no problems at all with the sounds of the letters.
2.) 12 students got a lot of the questions right. They did very well, however, there is still some room for improvement.
3.) 5 students appear to have limited knowledge of the sounds the letters make. For three of the students, it seems to be specifically because of the fact that English is not their first language. While the other two students might be because of special needs, such as ADHD (further testing is needed).

With this knowledge, I can now better plan for these three groups. I can differentiate our Unit for each of them. My strategies are the following:

Group 1 will work independently on some worksheets. They will record themselves reading some sentences with the key vocabulary and then drawing a picture of the sentence. They will then upload their work to Seesaw. Students will then watch Alphablocks in order to continue to practice their reading, speaking, and listening skills.

Group 2 will at first, spend some time with me going over the sounds one more time. We will have some short lessons to help us remember the sounds (via games, flashcards, etc.). Students will then sing some alphabet songs with my co-teacher to help them with their speaking and listening skills.

Group 3 will at first, spend some time with my co-teacher. She will instruct them in their native language (Mandarin Chinese) so that they can better understand the concepts of: when you see this letter, make this sound; then, put all the sounds together to make a word. After this, my co-teacher will go to Group 2 (their song time), while I work with Group 3. I then try to help my students remember the sounds of the letters by using two strategies (instructions explained beforehand by my co-teacher as well):
- The first one is using our hands to make gestures for the sounds, called "Cued Articulation." They will practice with me, as well as, watch this video about it.
- The second one is asking students to move around! This strategy is perfect because it does not require a lot of English, and, it helps the potential ADHD students to focus and expand some of their energy. Students will be asked to search their house (scavenger hunt) for items that begin with a certain letter (e.g., a ball for B), or role play as something that makes the sound of that letter (e.g., a snake for S).

Each group starts off with their respective tasks/lessons. Everyday, each group will rotate ensuring that each group will do each activity. This is done so no group misses out on the FUN of each activity! However, the activities will be adjusted a bit in order to better help each group (e.g., when Group 3 works on the worksheets activities they will NOT be asked to read complete sentences; they will read simple words or phrases).

So, that was and is, my plan! A simple pre-assessment helped me gauge where my students were after they extended break. With this information, I was able to group my students into groups with similar results. Then, I came up with some lessons and activities that can better help each group of students. Now, let's see how it goes!

Eliseo's ECE Program

Introduction
My ideal program... to be honest, this is a very hard topic to discuss, for two reasons. One, there are so many amazing programs out there that it is hard to try and choose one to base mine on. And two, I have only had experience with South Korean educational programs. Therefore, I have not really had the chance to experience any other programs firsthand. As much as I have read and learned about them, I have not really seen any of those programs in person and thus, sometimes some of what they say is hard to belief can be done in a classroom.

So what about my ideal program? Well, as stated above, there are so many amazing programs out there! They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. So, for my program, I will just try and incorporate the strengths of some of the various programs in various degrees, and as much as possible. For this ideal program, I will be focusing on grades Pre-K to 3rd Grade for our school(s).


The following approaches will be applied for the Pre-K and Kindergarten grades.

Montessori
One of the biggest strengths of the Montessori system is the fact that they allow children from different age groups to study together. With the older children serving as role models for the younger ones. In Montessori schools, this approach usually covers a three year range. Therefore, in my program, Kindergartners will serve as the role models for their Pre-K friends.

A second strength that will be incorporated is their Montessori based learning tools/toys. These tools were made specifically to help students learn on their own, and to gather hands-on experience of what they are learning.

A prepared environment is a third strength of the Montessori philosophy that will be included. The environment is proportional to children's height and size in order to better help children reach materials, or anything of interest, to help them develop their interests.

Student-centered approach. Teachers are guides to help students learn, while a child's interests will lead the way.

Reggio Emilia
The first strength I will take from this approach is its belief in project-based learning. By combining Reggio Emilia projects and the age difference population of Montessori, students in my program will learn to better communicate, cooperate, and problem solving (other important aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach).

A second strength that will come from Reggio Emilia is their strong belief in documenting a child's work. All over our classrooms, and schools, our students' work will be on display. Students and parents will be able to see not just their creative works, but also photos and videos of the process they went on to create their masterpieces.

The "third teacher," the environment will also play an integral part of my ideal program. The schools and classrooms will have plenty of natural lighting, with large windows; indoor plants; and easy access to the outside world.

The "100 Languages of Children." Any way a child is going to want to demonstrate themselves, will be welcomed in our schools. Students will be able to draw, write, dance, etc., in order to be able to express themselves.

Like with the Montessori approach, Reggio Emilia will also add a student-centered approach to my ideal program. Teachers will be partners with their students to help them as they learn. Again, with a child's interest leading the way.

Parent Involvement (Co-Op Preschool)
This approach does not have an official name (I have seen some call it "Cooperative Schooling," although, this name also applies to a whole other educational philosophy, therefore, it will not be used here), so for now I will just call it "Parent Involvement." In my ideal program, parents will be inspired to be an active member of their child's educational life. A few times a month, parents can come to the classroom and help out. They can read stories to the class, play with the students, help prepare snacks, help on field trips, etc. Parents will be helpers/assistants to the classroom teachers.

The main strengths that my program will gain from this is the fact that parents and children will be able to spend some more quality time together (very important in this very busy world we live in). As well as, it will help parents to have a better/stronger relationship with their children's teachers. This then leads to better communication for everyone involved.


The following approach will be applied for the first to third grades.

IB PYP
Living in a 21st Century world, our students need to have a more international or global mindset. That is where the IB PYP curriculum comes in. With this curriculum, our students will be able to grow with an international-mindedness. The curriculum's focus on local and global issues is a great asset for students. This will help students to be better prepared for this globalized world we live in, since the curriculum helps them learn about the world itself.

A second important feature of the IB PYP curriculum is its high adoption rate around the world. If any of our students were to enroll at another school with this curriculum, they will be better suited for the transition to their new school. Leading to less stress for the student, and more time on them acclimating to their new surroundings.


The following approaches will be applied for all grade levels.

Holistic Education
My ideal program will be designed to not just help our students academically, but to help them grow in all areas: intellectual, social, emotional, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual needs will be developed. By helping our students develop all these areas, they can learn to build better relationships with their fellow people, and the environment.

Play-Based Learning
As a big believer in this style of learning, I must include it in my ideal educational program! Play-based learning, like many of the previous approaches mentioned above, helps students develop in so many areas: physical (and health), gross motor skills, social, emotional, intellectual, academic, problem solving etc. However, one reason I truly enjoy using play in my classrooms is because students are having fun while they are learning! This is the main reason I include it in my class and in my ideal program because it helps student engagement with the lesson.

Community Involvement
It will be important with my ideal program that our schools and the local community have a working relationship. I want our schools to be involved with the local community. It can take field trips to local areas; we can have neighborhood clean-ups; volunteer where help is needed; etc. The community will also provide assistance for the schools. Local firefighters/police officers can visit a school and discuss their occupations; local farms and/or grocery stores can provide plants, fruits, and vegetables for the school garden; and local residents can help with providing safety for our students.

Inclusion of Local Curriculum/Standards
As much as possible, my program will also try to incorporate the standards and/or curriculum of the local country. Similar to the second reason for including the IB PYP curriculum into my program, by including a local curriculum into it as well, our students will be better suited for a transition outside our schools. If they happen to enter a local school, they can more easily transition into their educational system.

Conclusion
Many of the great qualities from one program can be found in another program, but with a different name. No one program can claim to be the only one to practice a certain strategy. All I have done with my ideal program above, is just bring attention to each of the various strengths of each approach and tried to highlight them. In the end, as mentioned a few times before, all the programs I took inspiration from are great and each offer a wonderful learning experience for students. I just hope that my "Frankenstein" approach to them can also help our students learn and grow as well.


References
Barblett, L. (n.d.). Why play-based learning? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/every-child-magazine/every-child-index/every-child-vol-16-3-2010/play-based-learning-free-article/

Core Components of Montessori Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://amshq.org/About-Montessori/What-Is-Montessori/Core-Components-of-Montessori

Gale, R. (2018, October 12). Co-op preschools: Everything parents need to know. Retrieved from
https://www.workingmother.com/co-op-preschools-everything-parents-need-to-know

Holistic Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.schoolaroundus.org/holisticeducation

Loveless, B. (n.d.). Holistic education: A comprehensive guide. Retrieved from https://www.educationcorner.com/holistic-education.html

Stoudt, A. (n.d.). The Reggio Emilia approach. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/reggio-emilia-approach/

The Montessori Method. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fundacionmontessori.org/the-montessori-method.htm

The Room 241 Team. (2018, September 27). The importance of play-based learning. Retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/play-based-learning/

What is the PYP? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ibo.org/programmes/primary-years-programme/what-is-the-pyp/

What is the Reggio Emilia Approach? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aneverydaystory.com/beginners-guide-to-reggio-emilia/main-principles/

Comparing Two Schools from the U.S. and China

Since starting the Teach Now program, I have had to take a better look at many aspects of the school environment. One of those aspects is a school's demographics. Today, I have decided to take a look at two schools from different parts of the world: one from the U.S. and one from China. I chose these two particular schools for a reason. The school from the U.S. is the elementary school I attended roughly thirty years ago. It was good to read up on it and see how it is doing. The second school, the one in China, I chose because that is where I will next be teaching! After being in Korea for over ten years, the next phase in my educational career will begin soon in China! Because of this, I chose this school in order to get to know it better before arriving there. Now, let's take a closer look at these schools.

Short History

Durkee Elementary School is located in Houston, Tx and it was founded in 1912. It closed down and reopened a few times and it even moved locations. While it is amazing that it has such a long history, for this blog, I will be looking at the most recent demographics information from the academic year of 2017-2018.

Bromsgrove School Mission Hills (BMH) is located in Shenzhen, China and it was founded in 2015. Even though it is a new campus, the history of the Bromsgrove Schoool system actually dates all the way back to its founding in 1553 in Bromsgrove, England. However, with this school too, I will be focusing on its latest demographics data, 2018-2019, for this blog.

Already, we can see that these two schools are very different. First of all, we can see that Durkee Elementary is a public school from the United States, while Bromsgrove is an international school based from England but located in China. This first fact will help us understand many of the later facts and figures that we will take a look at. Second, Durkee has a history of over one hundred years, while BMH is finishing up its fourth year.

Students

The demographics of Durkee that will be stated here will cover the grades of Kindergarten to fifth grade. For Bromsgrove, I will cover the preschool demographics, since that is the department I will be working in. 

Durkee                                                                                   BMH

Total:                      609                                                                                         213

Gender:    N/A (48% Female, 52% Male)                            104 Females (48.8%), 109 Males (51.2%)

Ethnicity:  Hispanic: 509 (83.6%)                                         Nationality: China: 193 (90.69%)

                   African-American: 79 (13%)                                                    USA: 13 (6.11%)

                   White: 20 (3.3%)                                                                      Japan: 3 (1.4%)

                   Other: 1 (0.2%)                                                                         Australia: 2 (0.9%)

                                                                                                                     Canada: 1 (0.45%)

                                                                                                                     Colombia: 1 (0.45%)

Since the statistics for Durkee cover more grades, it is understandable to see that it has more overall students compared to BMH. When it comes to gender, both schools seem to have a very similar percentage in the difference between female and male students. While there were no numbers available for the students in Durkee, one can make an educated guess based on the percentage that is available. Based on my (elementary-leveled) math skills, there seems to be about 292 females and about 316 males in Durkee. Again, the numbers are of course higher in Durkee than in BMH, but the important thing is the fact that there does not seem to be a big gender gap in either school (with BMH gender gap being slightly smaller).

However, we now get to a big difference between the schools. A difference that comes about because of the previously mentioned public school/international school factor. For Durkee Elementary, ethnicity is an important factor to catalog. While in Bromsgrove, the nationality of students is the factor that they take note of. So while these two categories might not be the same, they can still help us get an image of the students in the schools.

Durkee is a predominantly Hispanic school. With over 80% of its student population being Hispanic. African-Americans are the next largest group followed by whites. In BMH, the largest group of students are Chinese. After this, the next largest is Americans, followed by Japanese. From these facts we can see that neither school can be labeled as particularly diverse. While they do have more than one group of students in their schools, the largest group in each school vastly outnumber all the other groups combined.

For me, one very interesting fact is that even though the U.S. as a whole is a white-majority country, in Durkee Elementary, whites make up a very small percentage of the population. This can be attributed to the history of the state of Texas. Because of its history, a large Hispanic population resides in Texas and thus, these numbers are not a surprise there. This fact leads to statistics in Texas tending to not align with those of the rest of the U.S. In China, the largest population group is Chinese. The statistics in Bromsgrove align with those of the rest of the country. Therefore, while Durkee's numbers do not line up with the rest of its country's numbers, BMH's numbers do line up with the numbers of its country.

Teachers

While students are the most important demographic group to look at in a school, there is another important one to also look at. The next important demographic group in our schools we are going to look at is, its teachers. 

Durkee                                                                                   BMH

Total:                      35                                                                                           28

Gender:    26 Females (74.3%), 9 Males (25.7%)                 25 Females (89.29%), 3 Males (10.71%)

Ethnicity:  Hispanic: 17 (48.6%)                                         Nationality: China: 14 (50%)

                   African-American: 13 (37.1%)                                                England: 5 (17.86%)

                   White: 4 (11.4%)                                                                      USA: 3 (10.71%)

                   Other: 1 (2.9%)                                                                         New Zealand: 2 (7.14%)

                                                                                                                     South Africa: 2 (7.14%)

                                                                                                                     Spain: 1 (3.57%)

                                                                                                                     Ireland: 1 (3.57%)

As stated before, Durkee Elementary is a bigger school compared to the preschool in Bromsgrove. However, while the student population was almost three times as big, when it came to the teacher population, the numbers were remarkably close. Durkee has 35 teachers and BMH has 28, making it a difference of only 7 teachers. Considering how much bigger Durkee is, the fact that it only has seven more teachers surprised me!

In regards to the gender of the teachers, there is one similarity and one big difference between both schools. The similarity comes in the fact that in both schools, female teachers vastly outnumber their male counterparts. Both schools have 25 or more female teachers, while the male teachers number in the single digits. The big difference, though, is in the gap between the numbers. In Durkee, female teachers outnumber male teachers by about 3 to 1. While in BMH, the female to male teacher gender gap is close to 9 to 1! While I will be adding one more point to the male side of the scale, I do not know how many current teachers will stay and how many will move on. Therefore, it will be interesting to see these numbers (and the student numbers, as well) when I begin at BMH.

Having taught in Korea (a fellow Asian country) for almost ten years, I can say that personally speaking (I admit, I do not have the numbers for this) Korea's female to male teacher gender gap is very similar to BMH's. For several years, I was the only male (or one of two) in my school. I am curious to know how the female to male gender gap is as a whole in the U.S. It will be interesting to see how those numbers align with Durkee's numbers; and to compare them with BMH and/or my Korean schools.

Just like with the student population, the teacher numbers are subdivided into ethnic groups for Durkee, and nationality groups for BMH. For Durkee, the teacher's ethnicity broke down into similar groups as the students. With the largest group being Hispanics, followed by African-American, and then whites. However, there are some big differences between the student and teacher numbers. For the students, the Hispanic group made up over 83% of the student population. However, within the teacher group, the Hispanic number was only 48%. A vastly different percentage. Within the African-American groups, the exact opposite happened. African-American students make up 13% of the student population, while within the teacher group, African-Americans make up 37%.

In Bromsgrove, the teacher population is more diverse than the student population. While Chinese students make up over 90% of the student population, Chinese teachers make up 50% of the teacher population. However, just as with the student numbers, the rest of the nationality numbers pale in comparison to the Chinese numbers. With British teachers making up the next biggest group at just 17%, followed by Americans at 10%.

While both schools have vastly different numbers and ethnicity/nationality groups, one thing is very apparent. The ethnicity/nationality of the largest teacher group matches with that of the largest student group. Also, in both schools the percentages drop significantly between the teachers and the students. Both dropping by over 40%.

For a spreadsheet on numbers for Durkee, please click here: Spreadsheet.
For an infographic on those Durkee numbers, please click here: Infographic.
For an infographic on BMH numbers, please click here: Infographic2.

Equity

The last thing we want to talk about in this blog, will be equity in the early childhood education classroom. Even though both schools above have one student group vastly outnumber the other student groups, this does not mean that educators should teach in a very homogeneous way to all their students. Educators should still come into their classrooms thinking about how to bring equity into their classrooms. The topic of equity in the classroom can be a very long one, however, I will just give a few quick examples for this blog:

- Place items in a location where all students can have access to them.
- Individualize and/or modify lessons/activities in order to include more students.
- Strong support network: between educators, school administration, and families.
- Have every student's culture represented in the classroom: via the classroom itself, or via inclusion in lessons and curriculum.
- Allow student voice in the classroom.
- To summarize: allow ACCESS and INCLUSION to students with their learning.

References
Delaware Department of Education, Delaware Health and Social Services (2013). Guide to promoting inclusion in early childhood programs. Retrived from https://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dms/epqc/birth3/files/guidetoinclusion2013.pdf

Yost, S. (2018, August 29). Increasing equity for all students. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/increasing-equity-all-students

International Schools

When I first left my hometown of Houston (go Rockets!), I did it for the adventure. While researching how to come and live in Asia I found out I could come and teach here without being certified. This was not only shocking for me, but it was also a very good thing for me personally. I could come to Asia, get an "easy" job, and then travel! Perfect.

Then something happened, I fell in love with teaching! Seeing my students' faces when they learn something new, or when they overcome a previous difficult task, it is one of the best "bonuses" of being an educator. However, as mentioned before, I was not a certified teacher back in the US. So, after making the decision to continue this career (of teaching) for the rest of my life, I started to look into getting certified (check!) and where to work. This, somewhat long introduction, now leads us into our post for today. During my research I came to the realization that the best place to work, for me, is at an international school. Now, that I have my certificate, I can go to one and done. Blog over...

Or so I thought! I really thought international schools were a simple concept that one could easily explain to people, but boy was I... right... wrong?

So what are international schools? First, I will give the definition I had in my head BEFORE my research. Then I will give some more professional definitions. Let's us begin with my pre-research definition:

An international school is a school in a non-Western country with a Western curriculum and schedule. It is mostly aimed at expats living abroad. The local population can attend as well, however, it is not the majority of the student population.

(Eliseo Rodriguez Jr, 2018.)

After my research, I found out my definition was... well... not wrong, but also, not right. It was a simplified definition that covers some schools, but not others. So then, what "is" an international school? This is where we have to slow down for a bit. For you see, there is no one straight forward definition of it. Therefore, I will start out with some definitions that are similar to mine and then, we will work our way to a deeper understanding of international schools.

Our first professional definition comes from the International School Consultancy (ISC) (they provide data on almost 10,000 international schools and 5 million students). They state an international school,

"Delivers a curriculum to any combination of preschool, primary, or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country."

To me, that is very similar to my own definition! But let's look at one more definition:

"Some are essentially national schools catering for children away from their home country."

(Hayden & Thompson, 1995)

Again, similar to my own.

Then, where does my definition, somewhat,"falter." I did not know this, but after my research, I realized my definition lacked one very important criteria: international education!

Just having expat students learning in English in a non-English country might cover some international schools, but it does not cover them all. For there are many schools who do not have the aforementioned criteria, however, they are still international schools because their curriculum is international. Here too, though, we need to slow down. For just as there is no one definition to international schools, there isn't one either for international education. So for this blog, I will simplify it for the reader. However, do keep in mind, this is my own simplified definition of it. There are deeper layers to its definition which deserve their own blog entry. Anyway: 

International education is to help students cooperate across borders in order to help people (and our planet) in an increasingly interdependent world.

(Eliseo Rodriguez Jr, 2018.)

In other words, international education is to prepare students for the 21st century world we live in. With an international education, it is hoped that students develop "a sense of responsibility towards others and towards future generations," an ideology based on the goal of, "international cooperation and harmony" (Hayden & Thompson, 1995).

For many schools, the best way to exemplify international education is by offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (see below for a very brief history on it). With this program, schools feel like they can truly help students, "appreciate their own diversity so they can... create a better world" (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). That last quote, actually, is the philosophy for the school we are about to talk about next, the International School of Geneva.

A Brief

But where and when did international schools start? Many consider the International School of Geneva, founded in 1924, to be the first ever international school (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). In fact, this school is the one that created the International Baccalaureate (IB), back in the 1960's.
In 1964, according to the Yearbook of Education, there were approximately 50 international schools, a number that increased greatly to about 1,000 by the year 1995 (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). If you recall above, ISC alone provides data on almost 10,000 international schools these days! In less than a hundred years, the number of international schools has increased dramatically!

Growth

According to ISC, even just twenty years ago, it was still not common to find many international schools, but today, "some leading cities have 100 or more" (ISC). According to their data, in the year 2000, there were 2,584 English-medium international schools educating fewer than a million students. Today, the number is closer to 9,000 international schools teaching over 4.85 million students. The biggest change, however, is the fact that now, approximately 80% of the enrollments are children from the local population attending an international school in their native country.

But why are the numbers growing so much these days? Well, ISC puts it best when they said,

"When economies improve and incomes rise, so more families aspire to better education standards for their children. This includes gaining a place at a reputable university, most of which are located in western countries and deliver their learning in the language of English. This is considered by many families to be a 'passport' to global career opportunities and prosperity."

I personally see this myself on a daily basis here in South Korea. Just 40 years ago, South Korea's economy was not very well. Then the, "Miracle on the Han River," happened, and its economy expanded exponentially. Korea went from a "developing" country to a "developed" country. And just as the above quote said, Korean families started to invest more in their children's education, especially in a Western education. Again, as the quote above says, these families see an English or Western education as their children's ticket (or "passport") for better job opportunities in the future.

For a great article about some trends in international schools, please click here.

KurtHahn

I would like to end this blog with some words from, and about, a very important figure in education, Kurt Hahn. I hope that just by looking at the quote above, the reader can tell what kind of man Kurt Hahn was. Now, I am not here to say how perfect he was, of course he wasn't, or to write an autobiography on him, no. I will just discuss a little about his views on education, and why they are important.

As the quote above says, Kurt Hahn believe in his students. He believe that they were capable of more than they thought of themselves. According to a website dedicated to him, his philosophy was,

"That each of us has more courage, more strength, and more compassion than we would ever have fathomed. Kurt Hahn's calling in life was to help people around the world realize this truth about themselves."

                                                                                                                                 (KurtHahn.org)

This optimistic view on education mirrors my own. I truly believe that my students have the potential for anything. I encourage my students to go into the world and learn about, and, from it. The more they know about the world the better they will be for it. This kind of thinking then ties back into international education. As mentioned before, international education is more than just about learning in a classroom. It's about learning beyond frontiers; it's about learning about our fellow man and about our world. Kurt put it brilliantly when he said,

"The boy growing up in brotherhood with foreigners, cannot help but learn to care about the rights and the happiness of at least one other nation." 

                                                                                                                             (Hahn, 1936)

I think, especially in today's political climate, these kinds of words (and mentality) is more of what the world needs. And for many who are in the international school and international education fields, this is what they are trying to do.

For an infographic of a small sample of international schools, please click here.

Sources
ISC Research about the international schools market. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.iscresearch.com/about-us/the-market

Hahn, K. (1936). Education and Peace: The Foundations of Modern Society. Kurthahn.org. Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2VERSQVVpZFNVOFE/view

Hayden, M. C., & Thompson, J. J. (1995). International Schools and International Education: A relationship reviewed. Oxford Review of Education, 21(3), 327-345. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2dFNNOERaMl9lQUk/view

KurtHahn.org / Devoted to the Education Philosophy of Kurt Hahn. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.kurthahn.org/

Teacher Evaluations

Teaching Evaluations
I have been at my current school for almost six years (I hit that mark next month!). In all these years, I have only been observed in the classroom three or four times. And that was in the first two years that I was here. Like most people, I was worried. What if I make a big mistake? What if I am not good enough? Even though I was nervous, I was also very excited. Why? Well, you see, I love teaching! I love it! So, I want to grow and become a better teacher, educator, whatever word you want to use. And one way to grow is by being observed and have my "skills" evaluated.

After my observations, I realized that I was worried over nothing. I love my school, however, the observation and evaluation process is not very thorough. I felt like I did not really learn that much about myself and my teaching abilities.

For my latest homework assignment with Teach Now, I saw a video about teacher observations and (one of) the evaluation process(es) that is involve. You can find the video here. I had a similar experience to it, but also a very different one. (That will be a post for another day.)

While working on this homework assignment, not only did I watch that video, I also learned a lot about some of the different approaches to teacher evaluation there are out there. I would like to briefly talk about two of them for now. Maybe in a future post I can go into more details about some other approaches that are used.

One of the best approaches I have seen is the system used by The New Teacher Program (TNTP): Teacher Evaluation 2.0. (Link here.) After reading it, I felt like this is (more or less) what I am looking for for me. Some of its main highlights are:

• Annual Process
• Clear, Rigorous Expectations
• Multiple Ratings
• Regular Feedback

I think every single one of these points is very important in a teacher evaluation!

A second system I looked at was the Texas Teacher Evaluation & Support System (T-TESS). Texas being my home state (go Houston!), I was curious about what it does in regards to this topic. With T-TESS, I not only like it because it is from my home state, I also like it because it meets what I said I was looking for in the above system. It has things like:

• Clear, Rigorous Expectations: I should add, very detailed as well!
• Multiple Ratings: 5 to be precise, from improvement needed to distinguised

A copy of their rubric can be found here. (The Texas Education Agency uses this system.)

Teach-Now Clinicals

I am not going to lie, there are, what seem like, a million criteria in most rubrics. However, for me personally and my clinical practice with Teach Now, the main areas I will be concerned with will be:

• Is there a nice atmosphere in the class? Is the environment good for learning? Does the teacher have a good rapport with the students?
• Are students engaged in the class? All? Most? Some? A few?
• What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses?

In other words, I want useful feedback. Going back to the beginning of this post. The problems I had with my observations/evaluations at my current school, is that I felt like I did not receive useful feedback. After leaving the meeting, I did not feel like I learned something new about myself or my teaching style. I did not learn what areas I am doing well in or what areas need improvement. My school employs a very common rating system that is used throughout many schools: satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

I can honestly say that I am NOT a fan of this style of evaluation. I need a system that can help me know what my strengths and weaknesses are. What areas am I strong at, so that I can continue to do those things; what areas am I weak at, so that I can improve them. So, it seems to me, that I am looking for a system similar to the one used by T-TESS. After my clinicals, the thing I will look for the most will be if I was able to grow thanks to the feedback my mentor and teacher give me. I am greatly looking forward to the process!

Using Pre-Assessment for Differentiated Instruction

Even though my students are young, they are kindergartners after all, it still follows that they are just like their older peers when it comes to having knowledge on a particular subject. Just like in any other grade, there are some students who for some reason or another have already mastered the subject the teacher is about to go over (in my case, they already know the alphabet). Then there are students who know a great deal about the subject (the alphabet) but have not mastered it yet. And then, there are the students who are learning about this subject (the alphabet) for the first time (more or less).

As mentioned above, my current unit for my Korean Kindergarten class is covering the alphabet, from A to Z. Surprisingly, some of my students have already mastered it! They not only know the whole alphabet, they know all the differences between uppercase and lowercase letters. The second group, knows the alphabet song and most of the letters, but there is still some room for improvement. The third group, either have no idea what "alien" writing they are looking at; or, they know a few letters here and there. As you can see, there is a vast gap between the groups.

But how did I come to these results? By using pre-assessment! As the word itself states, it is an assessment that is done before (thus the "pre" in the word) the subject is taught. There are many different ways to do pre-assessments. This particular time, I chose to use the Kahoot website to create a quiz (sample quiz in the link). (See references at the bottom for a link that provides 27 different ways to pre-assess your students.)

With a pre-assessment, I as a teacher, can see what is already known about the alphabet, how ready my students are for the new instruction they are about to receive, and more importantly, helps me to present the subject at appropriate levels for all my students. In other words, I am not trying to make sure my students are all on the "same page." Instead, I am trying to make sure I know what "page" THEY are on.

After the pre-assessment, as mentioned above, most students fall into one of three categories. For the sake of simplicity, I will label them: Advance, Intermediate, and Beginner. After going through their results, I will separate their scores into those three groups. I can then beginning my second step in preparing lessons for them. For this part I can use a mind map, such as this one (which I prepared specifically for this alphabet unit). This mind map can guide me in making my instruction.

"Ok, these students are advanced, then they can do this and that. This group is beginners, ok, then I will be more involved with them, and they will do this and that."

Thanks to pre-assessments, I am able to not only help my students learn the alphabet, but I am better able to do it in a way that meets their needs.


References
5. Pre-assessment Ideas - Differentiation & LR Information for SAS Teachers. (2018). Sites.google.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018, from https://sites.google.com/site/lrtsas/differentiation/5-preassessment-ideas

27 Ways To Assess Background Knowledge. (2018). TeachThought. Retrieved 21 January 2018, from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/27-ways-assess-background-knowledge/

High-Stakes Testing

A high-stakes test is any test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or districts, most commonly for the purpose of accountability—i.e., the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers. In general, “high stakes” means that test scores are used to determine punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, funding reductions, negative publicity), accolades (awards, public celebration, positive publicity), advancement (grade promotion or graduation for students), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for administrators and teachers).

                                                                                              (High-Stakes Test Definition, 2017)

Sorry for that long introduction quote, but the whole paragraph is very important for this blog. I am currently a Kindergarten teacher in an academy (hagwon/학원) in Korea. When I was a child, I attended schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Therefore, for this blog I will compare high-stakes testing in my current school here in Korea with one from HISD.

HISD
It has been so long since I last attended my university, even longer since I attended Kindergarten and elementary school (between 25 and 30 years ago)! Therefore, my memory of it is not so well. So to get a better idea of what high-stakes testing is like nowadays, I interviewed a teacher that currently teaches in HISD at the moment (let's call him Pat). Pat is a Pre-K teacher in a Pre-K to 5th grade school in HISD. He has been teaching there for almost 20 years now. For simplicity, I will summarize our interview in bullet-point form for convenience:

*How much time is spent in testing?

Pretty much at my school, the first two weeks are spent on establishing rules and routines. After those two weeks, all of the learning is based on STAAR testing (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness). That being said, I know teachers try their best to make it as interesting as possible.

*Are teachers teaching to the test?

Yes, even though HISD sets up objectives to teach in a certain order, teachers will teach what they think will show up on the (STAAR) test. They give their classrooms tests in the same type of format as well so that they (the students) can become familiar with it. HISD pushes it because they (the classroom tests) give "snapshots" which are mini-tests to see if they are on the right track. Sometimes, twice a month.

*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?

In HISD, yes, bonuses are given based on percentage passed. Most teachers I know, could care less about the money. Although it's nice to have extra money, they would love to be able to just teach without the pressure!

*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?

Well... this is tricky because parents think this is set in stone. But, there are loopholes.

-Teachers/Administration can have a meeting to decide if the student should move on.

-The student can "age" out (they are too old) or have failed too many times.

- Parents can actually choose to opt there child out from any STAAR testing.

*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?

The students hate testing of course! Hearing about these tests all year makes them nervous, sick, scared, etc. Some vomit and even have panic attacks. (Personal story then shared about how tests affect kids.) These tests are not accurate and I don't think one test should have that much power.

*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?

I don't know if they can do this officially, but I do know they do try to get rid of teachers with low scores.

Academy in Korea

I currently teach in a private academy that teaches students from Pre-K all the way to 5th grade. However, only the Pre-K and Kindergarten morning classes are ran like your normal public school. The afternoon elementary classes are private classes that students take after their regular public school. Therefore, these two programs (morning and afternoon) have some similarities but also have some differences. Anyway, let's see how my school answers the above questions:

*How much time is spent in testing?
In the morning program, the advance Kindergarten class has a daily spelling test that last 5-10 minutes. It is done for 11 months. The intermediate classes do it for 6 months. Beginners classes do not have spelling tests. Besides this, the only other test is the end of the year level-up test. This test takes about 2-3 hours.
The afternoon program, has monthly unit tests that take two periods, one with a Korean teacher for 45 minutes and one with a native English-speaking teacher, also for 45 minutes (for a total of 90 minutes). Different grades and/or levels also have 5-10 minute spelling tests. Some classes have them everyday. Some classes have them once a week. And at the end of the year, level-up tests that also take two class periods, are administered.

*Are teachers teaching to the test?
Not really. The spelling tests consist of key vocabulary words taken from the classroom books, so regardless, students would learn them. The unit tests are more like fancy reviews. And there is no time to prepare for the level-up test because:
The main goal is to teach to finish the book and move on to the next one.

*Are rewards or bonuses given to teachers whose students score high?
No.

*Are students required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate?
Not really. In the morning program, Pre-K students are just split into advance and intermediate levels for Kindergarten based on their level-up test scores (and other year-round assessments). Same for Kindergarten students who will enter the afternoon 1st grade program.
In the afternoon program, most students level-up regardless and don't get split into different levels (for the most part). The only exceptions are students who really, and I mean really, struggled for a whole year. They end up repeating the same level they were on.

*How are students handling increasing pressures to perform?
Not to be mean and sound stereotypical... but... its Korea, an Asian country... so... there is a lot of stress on students! Even on meaningless (as in do not affect progress or are required for level-up assessment) spelling tests, students have a lot of pressure. I have had dozens of students cry just thinking about the following week's test. And a few even tell me how their parents would scold and/or hit them for not getting a perfect. (A 95% is not get enough.)

*Are test scores used for teacher evaluations?
No.

My Thoughts
The most shocking thing I discovered in my interview with Pat, was the fact that what he said made schools back in Houston sound like Asian schools. I specifically told him this! Elementary students having actual physical symptoms because of the stress they were getting from tests, what?!?! Maybe it's because it was so long ago for me, but, I do not recall Kindergarten and/or elementary school being like that.

I was also surprised to hear that many of the teachers at that school taught to the test. While he acknowledges that most teachers make their lessons fun, and even that they wish they could just teach for the sake of learning, it was still a bit disheartening to hear that some of them teach to the test. Over the years, I have heard about schools these days in the U.S. being more test heavy, but it did not really hit me until I heard it directly from a teacher (as opposed to reading about it online).

As some of you might have noticed, even though this blog is about high-stakes tests, when it came to describing my Korean academy, there really wasn't much to say. There are no STAAR tests, or SAT tests or anything like that in my school. Even our level-up tests, which on paper could be considered high-stakes tests, are not really used too strictly to determine progress. Then what tests are high-stakes at my school?

The answer is... all of them! Going back to the Asian mentality (and please forgive me for this generalization) of putting so much importance on anything related to education, this makes it so that to my students ALL tests are high-stakes. As mentioned above, even weekly spelling tests (which have absolutely no affect on their level up assessment, or are used to reflect how they are currently doing) even these tests cause so much stress for students in Korea.

So, in conclusion, a public school in Houston has the STAAR test as its high stakes. In my school, on paper, we have level-up tests as our high-stakes tests. However, they are not really treated as high-stakes too much. But to my Korean students and their parents, ALL tests are high-stakes. Because of the importance put on these high-stakes tests (in Houston and in Korea), students are so stressed out and nervous that they are actually getting physically ill.

While there are many differences between these two schools, unfortunately, they have one big thing in common: the pressure that these tests put on students. So let's try to end this on a, somewhat, lighter note:

References
High-Stakes Test Definition. (2017). The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved 2 July 2017, from
http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/