Roosevelt Elementary School: Evaluation of Student Work
Long Beach, California
One of the key components of the changes I focused on in my first year was to insist that teachers be able to evaluate the degree to which students learned what was taught. In some cases, such as in mathematics, which has its own universal symbol system, this was easy to do with a pre- and posttest. We did not wait until the results of the state's standardized tests to determine if students achieved growth. Thinking Maps became a powerful strategy that teachers used to evaluate student learning. The results provided teachers with information that was used to monitor student growth and to adjust teaching.
Teachers used Thinking Maps in various ways to determine the quantity and quality of what students learned. Some used Circle Maps as preand posttests to determine what they learned. Other teachers gave students an assignment that required them to demonstrate their thinking. For example, one first-grade teacher asked students to retell a story. She was able to evaluate the students' comprehension based on the Flow Maps they created. A third-grade teacher asked students to determine the causes and effects of pollution on the ocean. It was quite evident who "got it" and who didn't. The teacher was able to quickly reteach those who needed it. In all these cases, our English-language learners were able to participate fully in the core curriculum.
More information about Roosevelt Elementary School is part of the book Student Successes With Thinking Maps — read excerpts from this chapter and other chapters about the student successes.