Time is surely flying... The atmosphere at HTS Bellville is surely overwhelming. Our mentor teachers are becoming more and more like family. The conversation topics are also much different, much more personal. There is also a clear trustful relationship.
This week the one aspect that stood out for me is the formal assessments. I spent the whole week and my weekend just marking. I did not do soo much lessons this week. I was shocked to see how the grade 9 Natural Sciences test and practical marks look. I still don't know what to think of it.
During the lessons and the activities, learners answer correctly and are participating. The recapping of concepts also stimulates the learning process. However, the marks are so disappointing. Yes, surely thee are a few learners that do well but the majority is less than average. I am quite worried about this because exams are coming up in two weeks and alot of improvements need to take place.
It took my own grade 9 class 3 periods (3hours) to finish a formal assessment that was suppose to be completed in 1 period (1hour). They are the last grade 9s to write their class test on Monday, thus I'm actually quite worried judging from the results of the other classes scripts we have marked thus far.
Learners tend to get very nervous when writing tests or doing formal assessments that require them not to use their textbooks or writing books. They doubt their answers and make silly mistakes. Thus i feel that we need to emphasise the importance of writing down formulas much more. Also, now we need to do much more revision lessons than what we intended on doing.
Formal assessments are often nerve-wrecking and stressful. It seems as if you observe that students aren't as prepared for these formal assessments - not necessarily in terms of content, but more in terms of the 'experience' of such an assessment. In which ways do you think could one prepare learners better for formal assessments?
ReplyDeleteRevision also, working through examples that are similar to the ones asked in the tests, practicals, or exams. As most learners have the knowledge of the content but they do not know how to put it down on paper correctly. They don't answer the questions correctly.
DeleteRevision also, working through examples that are similar to the ones asked in the tests, practicals, or exams. As most learners have the knowledge of the content but they do not know how to put it down on paper correctly. They don't answer the questions correctly.
DeleteI have exactly the same problem you have with the formal assessments. The learners seem to grasp the concepts in class and can do their homework with ease, but still their formal assessment marks look very bad. I struggle to find the balance between lecturing and giving them time to practice in class. Don't be too discouraged though - some tests just go worse than others. Good luck!
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