Moriah Webb

In Week 7 and 8 of ELEC 316, we discussed concepts in statistics and practiced analyzing data in Excel. Additionally, we determined the difference between quantitative and qualitative data. Now that I understand the importance of collecting and interpreting data in the early childhood setting, I plan to incorporate this practice in my future classroom.  During class time, I identified many statistics terms that were familiar to me and a few terms that were new or unfamiliar to me. Vocabulary including standardization (definition: raw scores are converted to compare scores), norming (definition: process of creating norms), and criterion-referenced tests (definition: scores are compared to standards) were relatively unfamiliar to me in my study of statistics. On the other hand, mean, median, mode, population, sample, etc., were very familiar to me. Analyzing data using statistical measurements can be highly invaluable in any career. Particularly in education, data on test scores can ...

     During Week 6 of ELEC 316, we learned in detail about the process required for planning a meaningful lesson and the importance and variety of assessments that can be administered in the classroom setting. On Wednesday, September 28, we discussed the concept of alignment in lessons, activities, and classroom experiences. I learned that it is crucial that a teacher begins planning by considering the academic standards. By doing this, teachers can create purposeful objectives that scaffold and expand upon student learning. After the objectives are formed and clearly written, instructional activities can be designed to help the teacher assess their students in a variety of ways. When the standards, learning objectives, instructional activities, and assessments are aligned, teachers can present a wonderful learning experience in the classroom that challenges and encourages students in their learning. In my future classroom, I will begin my planning by looking at the acad...