FIAE+Chapter+2+Block+2

[|Synthesis - FIAE C2 B2]

In chapter two of FIAE Wormeli explores the complications of identifying true mastery in the classroom. Wormeli explains that there are “two ways to obtain sufficient evidence of mastery: 1) multiple assignments and 2) tracing the progress of a few important works over time,” (pg 13). The chapter also provides ways to help determine what is important to help students master. “Interestingly, veteran teachers need to do this as well as new teachers. We all have to be vigilant against complacency or subject myopia…” (pg. 17).
 * **Names** || **Abstract** || **Reflection** ||
 * Barnes Mckell || Chapter two in Fair Isn’t Always Equal talks about developing mastery in differentiated instruction. The book provides a way to do so: there are six facets that give you an outline in mastering this teaching style. The six facets are explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. Although following these facets are great ways to get started, actually practicing teaching different lessons is the best way to obtain mastery. A big thing in this process is being able to realistically evaluate yourself by observing and evaluating students work. || I really thought this chapter did a great job of providing you a foundation to master skills in differentiated teaching. I really liked and completely agree with the point that practicing these skills is the best way to improve and master this type of instruction. I also think one of the best ways to do this is by evaluating yourself. ||
 * Brennick Christopher || This chapter of the book goes into what is the mastery of our content standards. The book starts us out by saying that just because someone can solve a problem or can identify aspect does not mean that a student has mastered a subject. The book then goes into a section on what is mastery and it starts by saying it is hard to say because everyone defines the word a little different, but it is important at the school level to have a definition and having one that is broken down to a public friendly sound bite level does help everyone. One definition that the book gives as an example is the six facets of understanding by the book understanding by design. The next section looks at the acceptable evidence of mastery in a subject area. Some of the important factors we must look at according to the book a re what is the objectives, what are some different mediums in, which students can express mastery, what is a naïve versus sophisticate understanding and is it just knowledge or understanding. The last part of the chapter asks what is important to master? The list of suggestions for this area is very large including looking at curriculum guides, posted benchmarks, taking with colleagues, looking a program of studies, and personal reflection. || This chapter really hits home with me because my firm belief is that before we start on our road trip of education we should know where we are going. I think it is very hard to find what mastery is, but in my classroom I hope to use all of the techniques mentioned in this chapter as a guide in finding out what a level of mastery is and holding my student to that level of mastery. I also believe that the six facets of understanding are a helpful guide in determining a level of mastery but they all take skills and knowledge and require to apply and use them which is what education is all about in my opinion. ||
 * Columbia Laura || In the second chapter of Fair Isn't Always Equal, Rick Wormeli discusses the importance of students mastering the subject, as well as teachers grading. A chart is given which lists evidence and examples of when students have mastered a concept or topic, as well as instances where they have not mastered it. Concerning grading, it is encouraged that teachers express their criteria of mastery in each subject. Another part of the chapter was the use of different types of forms to evaluate mastery of a subject. One example given was writing. Writing can reveal holes in a person's understanding that other forms of assessment will miss. The final part of the chapter discusses what is important to teach. A list is given on people or resources that new teachers can use to figure out the ideas and concepts that are important to the curriculum. Words of wisdom are offered in the closing. It is up to the teacher to interpret curriculum, which will become easier with experience. || This chapter had many great points that made me look at teaching differently. Especially the part that looked at grades, which often times reflects just a small time in the students learning experience, not the overall picture. It is important to know that a student understands the lesson. There is a list of different ways a student can demonstrate that they have mastered the subject, which is very helpful. While reading about grading, the idea of using written responses is good because it can show areas of weakness. I remember as a student, dreading having to write what I know, because of that! Towards the end of the chapter one of my fears was discussed. Not teaching the right things in the curriculum. Yet, it is reassuring that there are resources for me to access to help with this problem. ||
 * Coombs Kayla || Chapter two of “Fair Isn’t Always Equal” was about developing and distinguishing mastery, which can be demonstrated through the six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. We can obtain evidence of mastery through creating multiple assignments, and tracking the progress of a couple important pieces of work over time. Some of the resources that are helpful in determining what exactly would be important to master are: mentor or colleague teachers, standards of learning, programs of study, professional organizations, other teachers’ tests and assessments, and personal reflection after studying the field yourself. || This chapter introduced a topic that I had not really begun to think deeply about yet. One must consider mastery in the sense of how to identify what exactly demonstrates a students’ mastery of the content one is teaching. When I am beginning my career as a teacher I will first go to my colleagues that have been teaching for awhile to help me determine what the important things are for my students to master. This chapter reminded me of how my teachers have obtained evidence of mastery. For example, my English professor last year had us do four major essay assignments, and we were to create revised versions of the same pieces over the course of the semester, improving each piece as we applied what we were learning in class to make better papers. She could see evidence of our mastery as each essay was further developed in areas that we were learning about in class. For instance, we learned about the proper ways to include excerpts from the text, and we demonstrated our mastery through revising our papers in such areas. ||
 * Cummons Michael || Chapter 2 of FIAE is about “mastery” of a subject. How do we know if a student has truly mastered a subject? This chapter asks if we are just using our best guess on whether or not a student as mastered the subject. What is mastery? Ben Franklin said, “Tim was so learned he could name a horse in nine languages; so ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on.” This book says to that a teaching staff should complete sentences like “Mastery is…..” Understanding is like….,” and “My students are literate in my subject area when they….” It is a good idea to have widely accepted definitions of these statements. In Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins’ book //Understanding by Design,// they list six facets of true understanding: Explanation, Interpretation, Application, Perspective, Empathy, and Self Knowledge. There are two ways to obtain evidence of master. One way is multiple assignments to see if a student understands the material. Another way is tracking the progress of a few important works over time. || Chapter 2 addresses a serious problem in education: Students going through classes without mastering material. Looking at myself in high school, I remember many subjects where I studied and passed tests, but didn’t master the subject. As a teacher, it is very important to help students master a subject. It is important to have a common definition of mastery, and an effective way to assess mastery in the classroom. The six facets of true understanding seem to be a great starting point for assessing true mastery in the classroom. ||
 * Damboise Kelley || Chapter two defines mastery as “more than knowing information, of course, but it can even go beyond manipulating and applying that information successfully in other situations”. (Wormeli, p. 11) A student demonstrates understanding when he or she can: explain and describe in details the topic he or she just learned, interpret the meaning so that others may understand, apply it to different situations, receive other perspectives dealing with the topic, have empathy or feelings toward the subject, and be able to reflect on his or her own knowledge. In order to assess whether a student has mastered a certain subject, we first must understand what the objectives are, and make sure that they run parallel to the assessment technique. Nolen and Taylor’s idea of assessing mastery includes “1) multiple assignments, and 2) tracking the progress of a few important works over time”. (Wormeli, p 13) || In the chapter it mentions that “anyone can repeat information,” which I believe is so true, but that doesn’t mean he or she has mastered the subject. When I was a child growing up we use to have weekly spelling tests. We were giving a spelling list on Monday, had a pre-test on Wednesday, and took our test on Friday. Week after week I would score 100’s on each of my spelling tests, but when it came time to start putting sentences together my spelling was awful. Even simple words such as cat and dog were not spelled correctly. My parents didn’t understand why I was doing so well on the spelling tests, but failing miserably when it came to writing. This was because I could memorize and repeat the information for the test that week, but after that the words would disappear because I didn’t really master learning how to spell. ||
 * Kelley Kathleen || Chapter two in //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// focused around mastery and how to tell whether or not the students are exhibiting proficiency in subjects and what counts as acceptable evidence. Mastery was described as knowing more than just information and facts, but being able to go beyond being able to analyze and synthesize the information. The ideas of Howard Gardner and Jean Piaget were also referenced when comprehension and understanding were being discussed. A student can demonstrate mastery of a subject by being able to apply the six facets of understanding within a subject. Writing was also suggested as another way to determine whether or not the student is proficient because through writing, you cannot hide what you do not know. Spelling tests were used as an example. Is a student proficient if they get a 100% on an exam? Not necessarily because there is more to spelling and grammar than that. You need to be able to pick out errors in text and correct them. Simple tests like that do not demonstrate mastery. This is not only a student problem but a faculty problem. Reviewing what needs to be demonstrated to show mastery needs to happen on a regular basis because without it, we may lose sight of what really is important. || Chapter two was a great chapter to read because it has reinforced everything that we have been learning this whole semester. I personally enjoyed how this reading tied both Gardner and Piaget into the text because those are two names that have been mentioned frequently in our required readings and it made me want to learn more about their theories on education. I also enjoyed how they went into depth about the six facets of understanding, and gave a table of examples that showed mastery of a subject and non-mastery. ||
 * Knowles Christina || Chapter two starts out explaining the definitions of the Facets of Understandings. As we know, the Facets of Understandings are used for making lesson plans and also help teachers and students in assessments. Next the chapter talked about assessment how students should prove they mastered the lesson. The chapter also said that as teachers, we need to decide what is important for the student to master. We can no possibly expect our students to master all of the information in a subject. || I am really happy the chapter went over the Facets of Understandings. I was a little confused about the facets before but after reading the chapter, I feel like I have a much better understanding of them. I also liked that the chapter talked about knowing what needs to be mastered. Chapters we have read in other books also went over this. This shows how important mastering only the important parts of a subject is. ||
 * Mourkas Margaret || Mastery. That is the title of this chapter. Mastery of differentiated instruction is the main theme of this chapter and student’s mastery of the teacher’s unit. Explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge are the six things that a student should be able to do when the unit is finished. Practice is the best way to learn mastery of a subject and method of instruction. Also, things are always changing so we need to keep an open mind to new information. If we keep doing the same old thing it will become a routine and we as teachers will get stuck. || Practice makes perfect. You cannot have mastery of something unless you start out with goals to be sought after. If you do not have goals in mind you a wandering teacher in the black hole that is education. With these goals we can understand where we want go on our journey of teaching and helping our student’s learn. I think it is important to make sure every student has mastered a subject or unit before moving on. Remember we cannot leave ANY child behind. ||
 * O'Neil Christopher || Chapter two discusses the idea of mastery and how to assess a student's mastery of information. If a student is able to analyze, critique, and apply the information given, then they have mastered that information. Also, a teacher can tell if a student mastered information by using the six facets of true understanding; explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. A teacher can also assess a student's mastery of information by issuing multiple assignments and tracking the progress of important works over time. Another way is to have the students do a written response about the information. It is much easier to tell where the rocky areas are in the student's knowledge on paper than it is when the student is orally explaining it. Teachers need to be clear on what is important to master. If the teacher is teaching for the first time, then they should speak to their colleagues about the subject they are teaching. They need to have set information that they want their students to master. || This chapter made a lot of sense to me and also provided excellent information on how to tell if a student has mastered the information or not. I can also use this information to assess myself on if I have mastered information given to me. Being able to properly assess a student is vital in teaching because you will know if you got through to the student or not with your information. I never agreed with the teachers that would assess my work based off of one assignment or one single test because how do they know if that was my best work? Teachers need to look at the whole, not just one part of it, to be able to successfully assess a student. ||
 * Richardson Cassandra || This chapter discusses the idea of mastery. Mastery can be assessed in different ways, so it is incredibly important for teachers to be clear on the criteria they will be comparing the student’s work to. One of the most important components of mastery that this chapter discussed was that the teacher considers different types to evaluate particular subjects, and to switch it up a bit when necessary. It also provides a list of invaluable resources for help when determining what information is important for the students to master. || I was impressed by the thorough list near the end of the chapter of the resources for determining what ‘mastering’ worthy in a curriculum is. As a future teacher, this is invaluable information, because this very issue will be something I believe I personally will struggle with over the course of the semester, and possibly into student teaching. I remember feeling more comfortable in a classroom that had a clear idea of what would show mastery of a subject up front, rather than bringing it up later, because I could reflect on that criteria over the course of the unit. ||
 * Trundy Monique ||  ||

I feel that this is so true. One of the hardest things to deal with as a student was coming across a teacher that had clearly become complacent over time. I remember a teacher I had in sixth grade that had clearly become complacent with her job. Her class was hard to get into, and she was extremely hard to relate to. Students never took her class seriously, and some of the more disobedient students would pull pranks to liven the class atmosphere. I never want to become a teacher like that. I always want to at least try to keep up with what’s going on in the educational world, and be able to find new ways to keep my students engaged. I found this chapter to be an interesting read because it reminded me of myself as a student. I was, especially in a math course, the student who only knew a formula or concept long enough to get a B on the quiz, and then I totally forgot how to solve the problem once that unit was over. This chapter seemed to follow along the same lines as our other readings and show that assessment is a necessary tool for teaching. In this chapter we are asked to assess in order to show evidence of mastery, while in the other readings we are made to assess in order to show evidence of learning. This seems to me to be two different steps in the same plan. Showing evidence of learning means the student is understanding and well on their way to developing mastery, while evidence of mastery proves that the student has learned, and was probably well assessed on learning along the way. I feel that chapters such as this are important because they show the necessity of assessment, and are very helpful in explaining the differences between really learning, and just memorizing. This chapter is a great tool in showing educators how to track their students understanding of a subject, and helps to create focus areas if a student is struggling in a particular area. It seems that the concepts in this chapter and a few previous to it are all made possible through the ideas of differential instruction and backward design. This chapter in FIAE involves being able to tell whether or not a student has mastered a concept, or is simply able to attain enough information to complete a given assignment. The chapter states that one solved problem, correctly spelled word, or good grade is not enough evidence to support mastery of a subject. Chapter two tells its readers that a true display of mastery is built by clear and consistent evidence of skill in the student’s work. This chapter tells us that grades are a momentary inference at best. Later in the chapter we read that there are two ways to gain real evidence of mastery, and that is through either many assignments, or tracking student progress on a few major works over a period of time. In the chapter we see that there are many ways to tell if a student has mastered a subject, and it says that unexplained one-line answers to deep questions are unacceptable. At the end of the chapter it shows that there is often too much material to cover and an educator is forced to decide which bits of information are deemed important enough to study while the others are left behind. The chapter lists several resources that teachers can use to help guide them in developing an appropriate curriculum. The chapter ends with warning us that we must be very careful in deciding what evidence of mastery is, and evidence of some mastery covered by a lot of hard work. Synthesis - FIAE C2 B2
 * Webb Christopher || Chapter 2 of FIAE discussed what mastery of a subject is and how to define it and how to determine if our students have mastered the material. It emphasizes two ways to obtain if students have a sufficient level of mastery and they are from Nolen and Taylor. One way is through multiple assignments and the other is through tracking the progress of several important works over time. It also discusses having students write to demonstrate levels of mastery since through certain bodily indicators such as inflection and facial expression students might be able to convince you they know the material when they really don’t. It ends by talking about how to determine what is worth teaching to the students and to do this it suggests looking at benchmarks, talking to colleagues, looking at curriculum guides, and other things. || Some of the things in this chapter I will definitely want to bring in my classroom. One of them would be tracking the progress of several projects over time. I think this ties in perfects with the analogy of keeping a photo album of a student’s work rather than a snapshot to show the evidence of their learning. I disagree with the section that says not to let a student explain orally that they have mastered the material because I think this goes against what they are trying to teach us to do. If a student feels comfortable explaining that they have mastered the material in an auditory fashion then isn’t that how I should allow them to? ||
 * West Simon ||  ||

In chapter two of FIAE Wormeli explores the complications of identifying true mastery in the classroom. Wormeli explains that there are “two ways to obtain sufficient evidence of mastery: 1) multiple assignments and 2) tracing the progress of a few important works over time,” (pg 13). The chapter also provides ways to help determine what is important to help students master. “Interestingly, veteran teachers need to do this as well as new teachers. We all have to be vigilant against complacency or subject myopia…” (pg. 17).
 * **Names** || **Abstract** || **Reflection** ||
 * Barnes Mckell || Chapter two in Fair Isn’t Always Equal talks about developing mastery in differentiated instruction. The book provides a way to do so: there are six facets that give you an outline in mastering this teaching style. The six facets are explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. Although following these facets are great ways to get started, actually practicing teaching different lessons is the best way to obtain mastery. A big thing in this process is being able to realistically evaluate yourself by observing and evaluating students work. || I really thought this chapter did a great job of providing you a foundation to master skills in differentiated teaching. I really liked and completely agree with the point that practicing these skills is the best way to improve and master this type of instruction. I also think one of the best ways to do this is by evaluating yourself. ||
 * Brennick Christopher || This chapter of the book goes into what is the mastery of our content standards. The book starts us out by saying that just because someone can solve a problem or can identify aspect does not mean that a student has mastered a subject. The book then goes into a section on what is mastery and it starts by saying it is hard to say because everyone defines the word a little different, but it is important at the school level to have a definition and having one that is broken down to a public friendly sound bite level does help everyone. One definition that the book gives as an example is the six facets of understanding by the book understanding by design. The next section looks at the acceptable evidence of mastery in a subject area. Some of the important factors we must look at according to the book a re what is the objectives, what are some different mediums in, which students can express mastery, what is a naïve versus sophisticate understanding and is it just knowledge or understanding. The last part of the chapter asks what is important to master? The list of suggestions for this area is very large including looking at curriculum guides, posted benchmarks, taking with colleagues, looking a program of studies, and personal reflection. || This chapter really hits home with me because my firm belief is that before we start on our road trip of education we should know where we are going. I think it is very hard to find what mastery is, but in my classroom I hope to use all of the techniques mentioned in this chapter as a guide in finding out what a level of mastery is and holding my student to that level of mastery. I also believe that the six facets of understanding are a helpful guide in determining a level of mastery but they all take skills and knowledge and require to apply and use them which is what education is all about in my opinion. ||
 * Columbia Laura || In the second chapter of Fair Isn't Always Equal, Rick Wormeli discusses the importance of students mastering the subject, as well as teachers grading. A chart is given which lists evidence and examples of when students have mastered a concept or topic, as well as instances where they have not mastered it. Concerning grading, it is encouraged that teachers express their criteria of mastery in each subject. Another part of the chapter was the use of different types of forms to evaluate mastery of a subject. One example given was writing. Writing can reveal holes in a person's understanding that other forms of assessment will miss. The final part of the chapter discusses what is important to teach. A list is given on people or resources that new teachers can use to figure out the ideas and concepts that are important to the curriculum. Words of wisdom are offered in the closing. It is up to the teacher to interpret curriculum, which will become easier with experience. || This chapter had many great points that made me look at teaching differently. Especially the part that looked at grades, which often times reflects just a small time in the students learning experience, not the overall picture. It is important to know that a student understands the lesson. There is a list of different ways a student can demonstrate that they have mastered the subject, which is very helpful. While reading about grading, the idea of using written responses is good because it can show areas of weakness. I remember as a student, dreading having to write what I know, because of that! Towards the end of the chapter one of my fears was discussed. Not teaching the right things in the curriculum. Yet, it is reassuring that there are resources for me to access to help with this problem. ||
 * Coombs Kayla || Chapter two of “Fair Isn’t Always Equal” was about developing and distinguishing mastery, which can be demonstrated through the six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. We can obtain evidence of mastery through creating multiple assignments, and tracking the progress of a couple important pieces of work over time. Some of the resources that are helpful in determining what exactly would be important to master are: mentor or colleague teachers, standards of learning, programs of study, professional organizations, other teachers’ tests and assessments, and personal reflection after studying the field yourself. || This chapter introduced a topic that I had not really begun to think deeply about yet. One must consider mastery in the sense of how to identify what exactly demonstrates a students’ mastery of the content one is teaching. When I am beginning my career as a teacher I will first go to my colleagues that have been teaching for awhile to help me determine what the important things are for my students to master. This chapter reminded me of how my teachers have obtained evidence of mastery. For example, my English professor last year had us do four major essay assignments, and we were to create revised versions of the same pieces over the course of the semester, improving each piece as we applied what we were learning in class to make better papers. She could see evidence of our mastery as each essay was further developed in areas that we were learning about in class. For instance, we learned about the proper ways to include excerpts from the text, and we demonstrated our mastery through revising our papers in such areas. ||
 * Cummons Michael ||  ||   ||
 * Damboise Kelley || Chapter two defines mastery as “more than knowing information, of course, but it can even go beyond manipulating and applying that information successfully in other situations”. (Wormeli, p. 11) A student demonstrates understanding when he or she can: explain and describe in details the topic he or she just learned, interpret the meaning so that others may understand, apply it to different situations, receive other perspectives dealing with the topic, have empathy or feelings toward the subject, and be able to reflect on his or her own knowledge. In order to assess whether a student has mastered a certain subject, we first must understand what the objectives are, and make sure that they run parallel to the assessment technique. Nolen and Taylor’s idea of assessing mastery includes “1) multiple assignments, and 2) tracking the progress of a few important works over time”. (Wormeli, p 13) || In the chapter it mentions that “anyone can repeat information,” which I believe is so true, but that doesn’t mean he or she has mastered the subject. When I was a child growing up we use to have weekly spelling tests. We were giving a spelling list on Monday, had a pre-test on Wednesday, and took our test on Friday. Week after week I would score 100’s on each of my spelling tests, but when it came time to start putting sentences together my spelling was awful. Even simple words such as cat and dog were not spelled correctly. My parents didn’t understand why I was doing so well on the spelling tests, but failing miserably when it came to writing. This was because I could memorize and repeat the information for the test that week, but after that the words would disappear because I didn’t really master learning how to spell. ||
 * Kelley Kathleen || Chapter two in //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// focused around mastery and how to tell whether or not the students are exhibiting proficiency in subjects and what counts as acceptable evidence. Mastery was described as knowing more than just information and facts, but being able to go beyond being able to analyze and synthesize the information. The ideas of Howard Gardner and Jean Piaget were also referenced when comprehension and understanding were being discussed. A student can demonstrate mastery of a subject by being able to apply the six facets of understanding within a subject. Writing was also suggested as another way to determine whether or not the student is proficient because through writing, you cannot hide what you do not know. Spelling tests were used as an example. Is a student proficient if they get a 100% on an exam? Not necessarily because there is more to spelling and grammar than that. You need to be able to pick out errors in text and correct them. Simple tests like that do not demonstrate mastery. This is not only a student problem but a faculty problem. Reviewing what needs to be demonstrated to show mastery needs to happen on a regular basis because without it, we may lose sight of what really is important. || Chapter two was a great chapter to read because it has reinforced everything that we have been learning this whole semester. I personally enjoyed how this reading tied both Gardner and Piaget into the text because those are two names that have been mentioned frequently in our required readings and it made me want to learn more about their theories on education. I also enjoyed how they went into depth about the six facets of understanding, and gave a table of examples that showed mastery of a subject and non-mastery. ||
 * Knowles Christina || Chapter two starts out explaining the definitions of the Facets of Understandings. As we know, the Facets of Understandings are used for making lesson plans and also help teachers and students in assessments. Next the chapter talked about assessment how students should prove they mastered the lesson. The chapter also said that as teachers, we need to decide what is important for the student to master. We can no possibly expect our students to master all of the information in a subject. || I am really happy the chapter went over the Facets of Understandings. I was a little confused about the facets before but after reading the chapter, I feel like I have a much better understanding of them. I also liked that the chapter talked about knowing what needs to be mastered. Chapters we have read in other books also went over this. This shows how important mastering only the important parts of a subject is. ||
 * Mourkas Margaret || Mastery. That is the title of this chapter. Mastery of differentiated instruction is the main theme of this chapter and student’s mastery of the teacher’s unit. Explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge are the six things that a student should be able to do when the unit is finished. Practice is the best way to learn mastery of a subject and method of instruction. Also, things are always changing so we need to keep an open mind to new information. If we keep doing the same old thing it will become a routine and we as teachers will get stuck. || Practice makes perfect. You cannot have mastery of something unless you start out with goals to be sought after. If you do not have goals in mind you a wandering teacher in the black hole that is education. With these goals we can understand where we want go on our journey of teaching and helping our student’s learn. I think it is important to make sure every student has mastered a subject or unit before moving on. Remember we cannot leave ANY child behind. ||
 * O'Neil Christopher || Chapter two discusses the idea of mastery and how to assess a student's mastery of information. If a student is able to analyze, critique, and apply the information given, then they have mastered that information. Also, a teacher can tell if a student mastered information by using the six facets of true understanding; explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. A teacher can also assess a student's mastery of information by issuing multiple assignments and tracking the progress of important works over time. Another way is to have the students do a written response about the information. It is much easier to tell where the rocky areas are in the student's knowledge on paper than it is when the student is orally explaining it. Teachers need to be clear on what is important to master. If the teacher is teaching for the first time, then they should speak to their colleagues about the subject they are teaching. They need to have set information that they want their students to master. || This chapter made a lot of sense to me and also provided excellent information on how to tell if a student has mastered the information or not. I can also use this information to assess myself on if I have mastered information given to me. Being able to properly assess a student is vital in teaching because you will know if you got through to the student or not with your information. I never agreed with the teachers that would assess my work based off of one assignment or one single test because how do they know if that was my best work? Teachers need to look at the whole, not just one part of it, to be able to successfully assess a student. ||
 * Richardson Cassandra || This chapter discusses the idea of mastery. Mastery can be assessed in different ways, so it is incredibly important for teachers to be clear on the criteria they will be comparing the student’s work to. One of the most important components of mastery that this chapter discussed was that the teacher considers different types to evaluate particular subjects, and to switch it up a bit when necessary. It also provides a list of invaluable resources for help when determining what information is important for the students to master. || I was impressed by the thorough list near the end of the chapter of the resources for determining what ‘mastering’ worthy in a curriculum is. As a future teacher, this is invaluable information, because this very issue will be something I believe I personally will struggle with over the course of the semester, and possibly into student teaching. I remember feeling more comfortable in a classroom that had a clear idea of what would show mastery of a subject up front, rather than bringing it up later, because I could reflect on that criteria over the course of the unit. ||
 * Trundy Monique ||  ||

I feel that this is so true. One of the hardest things to deal with as a student was coming across a teacher that had clearly become complacent over time. I remember a teacher I had in sixth grade that had clearly become complacent with her job. Her class was hard to get into, and she was extremely hard to relate to. Students never took her class seriously, and some of the more disobedient students would pull pranks to liven the class atmosphere. I never want to become a teacher like that. I always want to at least try to keep up with what’s going on in the educational world, and be able to find new ways to keep my students engaged. I found this chapter to be an interesting read because it reminded me of myself as a student. I was, especially in a math course, the student who only knew a formula or concept long enough to get a B on the quiz, and then I totally forgot how to solve the problem once that unit was over. This chapter seemed to follow along the same lines as our other readings and show that assessment is a necessary tool for teaching. In this chapter we are asked to assess in order to show evidence of mastery, while in the other readings we are made to assess in order to show evidence of learning. This seems to me to be two different steps in the same plan. Showing evidence of learning means the student is understanding and well on their way to developing mastery, while evidence of mastery proves that the student has learned, and was probably well assessed on learning along the way. I feel that chapters such as this are important because they show the necessity of assessment, and are very helpful in explaining the differences between really learning, and just memorizing. This chapter is a great tool in showing educators how to track their students understanding of a subject, and helps to create focus areas if a student is struggling in a particular area. It seems that the concepts in this chapter and a few previous to it are all made possible through the ideas of differential instruction and backward design. This chapter in FIAE involves being able to tell whether or not a student has mastered a concept, or is simply able to attain enough information to complete a given assignment. The chapter states that one solved problem, correctly spelled word, or good grade is not enough evidence to support mastery of a subject. Chapter two tells its readers that a true display of mastery is built by clear and consistent evidence of skill in the student’s work. This chapter tells us that grades are a momentary inference at best. Later in the chapter we read that there are two ways to gain real evidence of mastery, and that is through either many assignments, or tracking student progress on a few major works over a period of time. In the chapter we see that there are many ways to tell if a student has mastered a subject, and it says that unexplained one-line answers to deep questions are unacceptable. At the end of the chapter it shows that there is often too much material to cover and an educator is forced to decide which bits of information are deemed important enough to study while the others are left behind. The chapter lists several resources that teachers can use to help guide them in developing an appropriate curriculum. The chapter ends with warning us that we must be very careful in deciding what evidence of mastery is, and evidence of some mastery covered by a lot of hard work.
 * Webb Christopher || Chapter 2 of FIAE discussed what mastery of a subject is and how to define it and how to determine if our students have mastered the material. It emphasizes two ways to obtain if students have a sufficient level of mastery and they are from Nolen and Taylor. One way is through multiple assignments and the other is through tracking the progress of several important works over time. It also discusses having students write to demonstrate levels of mastery since through certain bodily indicators such as inflection and facial expression students might be able to convince you they know the material when they really don’t. It ends by talking about how to determine what is worth teaching to the students and to do this it suggests looking at benchmarks, talking to colleagues, looking at curriculum guides, and other things. || Some of the things in this chapter I will definitely want to bring in my classroom. One of them would be tracking the progress of several projects over time. I think this ties in perfects with the analogy of keeping a photo album of a student’s work rather than a snapshot to show the evidence of their learning. I disagree with the section that says not to let a student explain orally that they have mastered the material because I think this goes against what they are trying to teach us to do. If a student feels comfortable explaining that they have mastered the material in an auditory fashion then isn’t that how I should allow them to? ||
 * West Simon ||  ||