Kenneth Miller EDM 517 Blog

Kenneth Miller EDM 517 Dr. Walsh-Moorman 11-19-23 Blog #5 In chapter 5 of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, Karen Hess discusses the importance of  Performance-Based Assessments (PBAs) and their role in designing complex tasks. Performance-based assessments are a type of evaluation that goes beyond traditional tests. They assess people's ability to apply their knowledge and skills in practical situations or projects. Instead of just answering questions, individuals are asked to demonstrate their abilities through tasks, projects, or simulations. These assessments provide a more comprehensive understanding of a person's capabilities and can be used to evaluate various skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and creativity. Hess goes on to share an eight-step process for designing performance-based assessments: I. Identify what you want the assessment to measure. Figure out how you’d like your students to use their knowledge to perform a task or create som...

  Kenneth Miller EDM 517 Dr. Walsh-Moorman 11-12-23 Blog #4 Chapter 4 of Rigor by Design, Not Chance discusses the use of scaffolding in the classroom and how this teaching method benefits students' academic development. Framing is vital in education because it helps students learn and understand new concepts. It supports and guides students as they develop their skills and knowledge. By breaking down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, scaffolding allows students to build their understanding and confidence gradually. Teachers may utilize scaffolding by giving instruction that explains the topics at hand, providing feedback to learners to keep them engaged, and supplying students with hints to help them succeed. Karen Hess goes on to list three reasons why scaffolding should be used during instruction. Reason I: To Deepen Content Knowledge and Connect to Big Ideas As previously mentioned, the main goal of scaffolding is to help students build a foundation of knowledg...

  Kenneth Miller EDM 517 Dr. Walsh-Moorman 11-05-23 In the third chapter of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, Karen Hess discusses the importance of building schemas in the classroom. It is crucial to create schemas in an academic environment because it can have a significant impact on students' learning. When students have well-developed schemas, it helps them make connections between new information and what they already know. “Learning activities that build schemas (mental models) in each content domain is crucial to students' long-term memory retrieval and their ability to transfer learning to novel situations (far transfer)” (Hess, 2023, p.56).  This not only enhances their understanding but also improves their problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities. So, by building schemas, we can empower students to become more effective learners.  After a brief overview of schemas, Hess breaks down the stages of building schemas and how they vary amongst different subje...

  Kenneth Miller EDM 517 Dr. Walsh-Moorman 10-29-23 The main topic tackled by Hess in Chapter 2 of her book Rigor by Design, Not Chance is the role effective questioning plays in the classroom. She starts by discussing the “Art of Questioning.” The “Art of Questioning” involves probing different questions for different purposes and how these questions promote deeper thinking amongst students. Hess breaks down these probing questions into three categories: question sequencing, Socratic questioning, and genius hour. Question sequencing can be described as a class conversation between students and the instructor about content that has been read independently. “Asking students for their personal reaction to content, rather than beginning with a few basic recall questions, engages all students in the discussion right from the start” (Hess, 2023, p.23). This approach leaves the students to expand on a wide variety of topics within the literature rather than be confined to the issues that...

  Kenneth Miller  Dr. Walsh-Moorman EDM 517 10/22/2023 Rigor by Design, Not Chance is a book by Karin Hess that addresses old and new educational teaching methods and how they are applied in the classroom. Skills students develop in school will not only help them prosper academically but will help them become contributing members of society. Hess believes these skills can be obtained if teachers practice these six “essential teacher moves.”  Mastering core academic content  Thinking critically and solving complex problems Working collaboratively on complex tasks Communicating effectively Learning how to learn Developing an academic mindset Once the students have established a foundation, holding them to these high standards is critical to prepare them for the next step in their academic journey. All six of these bullet points serve a purpose in helping a student process, retain, and build off of new information.  “For students to successfully engage with comp...