How to Assess Students’ Performance in Class?

Assessing a student’s performance in class need not always be in marks. Like they marks don’t determine your intelligence, they have no role to play in a student’s overall performance too. The key to this lies in understanding how you can assess them right; look for their classroom performance that includes their grade sheets and internal assessments or their assessment in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ behavior? However, here are some of the ways through which it is done in top CBSE Schools in Hyderabad. The blog is an overview to the many key issues that are related to assessing the student’s learning.

Assessing student learning in classroom

There is no one way to do this. Assessment will vary bases on the grade they are in and the discipline too, extending over to departments and institutions. However, there are four parameters that contribute to successful grading. 

Charting out a neat grading criteria; 

Vocally explaining to the students the grading criteria; 

Giving them constructive feedback for improvement, and,

Efficiently managing time when having to grade huge load of students work. 

Following these four parameters will give you a head start to taking the right path of assessment. But how do these help?

Grading criteria 

One of the best ways to introduce the grading criteria to the students is to make it clear to them at the start of the course. Once the assessment standards are clear, it will enable the students to appropriately plan their syllabus, as to where they should concentrate much, thus enabling the students’ control of attention, to what to retain for further learning and what they can let go. Students are sensitive to grades and thus when you roll out a grade pattern for each assignment and test; they will channel their attention to what it is necessary. This also means it can have higher implication on their future academic necessities. 

Quick picks 

The next major step in the direction is to end the class by quickly asking them to list out they have learnt and the major concepts covered in the class. This way, you will see how effectively you have contributed to their learning and how much they have really understood. As we said, assessment is not always about the marks, but actually assessing what they have gained. The quick one minute questions like these will ensure they have the grasp of the core concept and are also a measure to keep them aware and focused in the class hours.

Do lecture them

Assessment does not come with them being prepared with your lectures alone. Of course, lectures are a necessary thing in the classroom, but the major part of their assessment through this comes from using technology driven measures in classroom. While we could say that the Earth revolves around the Sun, it could take a while for them to picture something like that. It will therefore become very useful if major teaching techniques are used to foster efficient learning. 

Grading and assessing are the two terms people often get confused with. Grading is the process of ranking on a scale of certain measure, while assessing is actually understanding how much they have picked from what you taught. Therefore, curriculum plans are a much-needed thing to rightly direct them to appropriate time management strategies they need to employ. 

Preparing Your Child for the Academic Year: What it takes

Prepping your child for school can be pretty exhausting. It comes with a lot of patience, motivation and pushing from your side to actually even pull your kid out of the bed, let alone prepping them up to the school. While that sure is a responsibility, the other big thing you need to focus on is to make them mentally prepared for the academic year. Some of the CBSE schools in Hyderabad do realise the challenge that this has been and have taken this as a matter of serious concern. Take a look at how you can efficiently pump your kid mentally for the year ahead. 

Kids in general love the vacation period and once that comes to end, some of them are excited to get back and re-connect with their friends. The rest others seem to get anxious. When anxiety takes over, it becomes difficult for your child to cope up at school or even to enjoy the idea of going to school. Some of these tips will come in handy for you as a parent. Take a look.

Talk to your child

The foremost thing to do is to talk to your child. Talk to your child about the first day. More importantly, listen to what he/she has to say. Participate in the ‘exciting’ news that they have to share. This way, they will come in terms with the fact that you are ever ready to any concern or news that they may have about their school. Ignore the first day jitters, instead ask them what they think of their school and how they think it is going to be like. This conversation can really gear them up for the next day and also make them feel excited about the whole idea of going to school.

Go to the school on the first day

Try your best to attend his or her orientation session. This will put the children at comfort, including have to handle the smaller issues of finding where the loo is or where to sit and eat. These smaller confusions, if they are unable to handle, will make them feel insecure and uncomfortable, thus ruining their entire days ahead. Comforting them through the small deeds like these will make them less scared of the new place. 

Enable the practice of routine

It is always a good idea to practice the routine. This way, you and your child will know when to get up and how long it will take for the both of you to get ready for school. Once you figure this out, it is going to be a relaxed pace for both of you. You won’t put your kids in a hurry-bury situation and you also allow them a lot of time in the morning to do their chores in peace.

Take them shopping 

Allow your child to pick up their books and stationery they may need for the upcoming year. This way, they will get excited about going shopping and will prepare them to be excited about the new day. They will also be excited to show their friends their picks. Essentially you are giving reasons for them to be excited about school. The four tips will come in very handy when you start a new academic session with your child. The vacations will accustom the child to a play and sit routine. Getting them back on track could be slightly challenging. Try these tips but also remember to ignore their first day jitters, as they are common among all the kids.

Significant Ways to Improve Student Participation During Group Discussions

Group discussions take place in various diverse formats – from extremely casual ones between friends to very planned and tricky debates incorporated as part of a selection procedure. Group discussions put forward an opening for unmitigated speaking (and listening!) training to all the participants. Group discussion exercise and skill enhancement is therefore helpful for all students.

To participate effectively in a classroom group discussion, students will have to pay more attention and also willingness to indulge in conversation that would take the intensity of the topic too far. One of the most unproductive ways of discussion is usually the one which takes place as a ‘one-on-one’ conversation between the teacher and a student, leaving the rest of the class oblivious. During such discussions, many students end-up not concentrating and divert their mind into something else. On the other hand, an effective classroom discussion keeps each student lively, either by sharing our thinking. So, here are some of those factors that a teacher has to keep in mind while prepping for group discussion in the classroom. 

Do not lose your cool in the classroom if you are receiving silence as an immediate response. Some children are really out-going when it comes to expressing themselves, but some need that silence or a break to start talking. So, if you don’t get an answer in 60 seconds, try to be calm and let the children start sharing their thoughts. As soon as the teacher starts sharing things, children stop going deeper into their thought which may end up in a fruitless discussion. Give them time to come up with their ideas.

Try to be easy with the grammatical mistakes they make while expressing themselves. As a teacher if you start correcting the child even before they make a point, he/she would never gather the courage to speak up their mind; rather they would be scared of the thought of being ridiculed by their peers for the silly mistakes. Try to understand their imagination because you can find time to correct those mistakes later like the way these Hyderabad CBSE Schools do.

Be kind enough to make them realise that they can commit mistakes during their group discussions. Help them perform better  by elaborating more on the concept and focus less on the mistakes they commit. A student will only speak up their mind if they have the confidence that they can commit mistakes. Ensure this freedom to the children like the way the top Hyderabad  schools provide.