1.

Monitoring comprehension

Students who are good at monitoring their comprehension know when they understand what
they read and when they do not. They have strategies to “fix” problems in their understanding
as the problems arise. Research shows that instruction, even in the early grades, can help
students become better at monitoring their comprehension.

Comprehension monitoring instruction teaches students to:

 Be aware of what they do understand

 Identify what they do not understand

 Use appropriate strategies to resolve problems in comprehension

2. Metacognition

Metacognition can be defined as “thinking about thinking.” Good readers use metacognitive
strategies to think about and have control over their reading. Before reading, they might
clarify their purpose for reading and preview the text. During reading, they might monitor
their understanding, adjusting their reading speed to fit the difficulty of the text and “fixing”
any comprehension problems they have. After reading, they check their understanding of
what they read.

Students may use several comprehension monitoring strategies:

 Identify where the difficulty occurs

“I don’t understand the second paragraph on page 76.”

 Identify what the difficulty is

“I don’t get what the author means when she says, ‘Arriving in America was a
milestone in my grandmother’s life.’”

 Restate the difficult sentence or passage in their own words

“Oh, so the author means that coming to America was a very important event in her
grandmother’s life.”

 Look back through the text

“The author talked about Mr. McBride in Chapter 2, but I don’t remember much about
him. Maybe if I reread that chapter, I can figure out why he’s acting this way now.”
  Look forward in the text for information that might help them to resolve the difficulty
“The text says, ‘The groundwater may form a stream or pond or create a wetland.
People can also bring groundwater to the surface.’ Hmm, I don’t understand how
people can do that… Oh, the next section is called ‘Wells.’ I’ll read this section to see
if it tells how they do it.”

3. Graphic and semantic organizers

Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or using
diagrams. Graphic organizers are known by different names, such as maps, webs, graphs,
charts, frames, or clusters.

Regardless of the label, graphic organizers can help readers focus on concepts and how they
are related to other concepts. Graphic organizers help students read and understand textbooks
and picture books.

Graphic organizers can:

 Help students focus on text structure differences between fiction and nonfiction as
they read

 Provide students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a text

 Help students write well-organized summaries of a text

Here are some examples of graphic organizers:

 Venn-Diagrams
Used to compare or contrast information from two sources. For example, comparing
two Dr. Seuss books.

 Storyboard/Chain of Events
Used to order or sequence events within a text. For example, listing the steps for
brushing your teeth.

 Story Map
Used to chart the story structure. These can be organized into fiction and nonfiction
text structures. For example, defining characters, setting, events, problem, resolution
in a fiction story; however in a nonfiction story, main idea and details would be
identified.
  Cause/Effect
Used to illustrate the cause and effects told within a text. For example, staying in the
sun too long may lead to a painful sunburn.

4. Answering questions

Questions can be effective because they:

 Give students a purpose for reading

 Focus students’ attention on what they are to learn

 Help students to think actively as they read

 Encourage students to monitor their comprehension

 Help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they
already know

The Question-Answer Relationship strategy (QAR) encourages students to learn how to

answer questions better. Students are asked to indicate whether the information they used to
answer questions about the text was textually explicit information (information that was
directly stated in the text), textually implicit information (information that was implied in the
text), or information entirely from the student’s own background knowledge. Learn more
about the QAR strategy in our strategy library.

There are four different types of questions:

 “Right There”
Questions found right in the text that ask students to find the one right answer located
in one place as a word or a sentence in the passage.
Example: Who is Frog’s friend? Answer: Toad

 “Think and Search”

Questions based on the recall of facts that can be found directly in the text. Answers
are typically found in more than one place, thus requiring students to “think” and
“search” through the passage to find the answer.
Example: Why was Frog sad? Answer: His friend was leaving.

 “Author and You”

Questions require students to use what they already know, with what they have
 learned from reading the text. Students must understand the text and relate it to
their prior knowledge before answering the question.
Example: How do think Frog felt when he found Toad? Answer: I think that Frog felt
happy because he had not seen Toad in a long time. I feel happy when I get to see my
friend who lives far away.

 “On Your Own”

Questions are answered based on a student’s prior knowledge and experiences.
Reading the text may not be helpful to them when answering this type of question.
Example: How would you feel if your best friend moved away? Answer: I would feel
very sad if my best friend moved away because I would miss her.

5. Generating questions

By generating questions, students become aware of whether they can answer the questions
and if they understand what they are reading. Students learn to ask themselves questions that
require them to combine information from different segments of text. For example, students
can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text.

6. Recognizing story structure

In story structure instruction, students learn to identify the categories of content (characters,
setting, events, problem, resolution). Often, students learn to recognize story structure
through the use of story maps. Instruction in story structure improves
students’ comprehension.

7. Summarizing

Summarizing requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading and to
put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps students:

 Identify or generate main ideas

 Connect the main or central ideas

 Eliminate unnecessary information

 Remember what they read

Q2. Types of Assessment

The assessment techniques should vary, just like the lessons. Through various
evaluations, teachers can better understand students’ progress and determine whether the
employed assessment is working or if they need to adjust their assessment method. Keep
reading to find out the types of assessments and types of assessment tools.

1. Diagnostic Assessment

A set of written questions (multiple choice or short answer) to determine students’current knowledge or
perspective on a specific topic is known as a diagnostic assessment. The questions are distributed at the start of the
unit, the course, or the discussion.

The objective is to gain a general idea of where the class is academically, emotionally, or ideologically so that the
teacher can decide how best to teach the new material and approach the course.

Some of the tools used in this kind of assessment are:

 Journals

 Quiz/Test

 Conference/Interview

 Posters

 Performance Tasks

 Mind Maps

 Gap-Closing
  Student Surveys

2. Formative Assessment

Formative assessment refers to a vast range of techniques teachers use to assess student understanding,
requirements, and academic achievement as they occur throughout the course. Formative assessments help
teachers identify concepts students have trouble understanding, skills they are having trouble picking up, or
learning requirements they have not yet attained. It also determines whether aspects of teaching are successful or if
adjustments are needed.

Formative assessments strategies include:

 Analysis of students’work

 Strategic questioning

 Think-pair-share method

 Admit/exit tickets

 One-minute papers

3. Summative Assessment

Summative evaluations measure students’learning, skill development, and academic accomplishment at the end
of a specific educational session, such as a project, unit, course, semester, or school year. The standardized
examinations given by states and testing agencies, typically in math, reading, writing, and science, are some well-
known and frequently used examples of summative evaluations.

Tools used to determine if the students have acquired the necessary knowledge are

 Tests
  Assignments

 Projects

Whether the results end up on a report card or in the college admission process, they are frequently documented as
scores or grades that are subsequently taken into account in a student’s permanent academic record.

4. Norm-referenced assessment

Norm-referenced assessment is a type of assessment that compares students’results to one another. It is carried out
to evaluate the skills or knowledge of the students inside a class. By using this technique, one can determine how a
student’s test results stack up against peers with similar backgrounds.

A few instances of norm-referenced evaluations are:

 Class exams

 Auditions

 Job interviews

 Debate competitions

5. Ipsative assessment

Ipsative assessment is a particular kind of survey or evaluation in which the participant has to choose one choice
out of several options that are seen to be socially desirable. In contrast to other typical assessments, the ipsative
assessment does not have a scale with which the replied questions are measured.

Unlike other types of assessment, ipsative evaluation questions someone or compares them with themselves. This
way, it gauges a person’s development.
6. Criterion-referenced assessments

The practice of assessing (and grading) student learning through a standardized test is known as criterion-
referenced assessment (CRA). Students must exhibit the pre-established criteria of the test to show that they have
met the learning objectives.

This type of assessment ensures that the skills, knowledge, and understandings outlined by the intended learning
outcomes match what is evaluated through the assessment. It helps students build excellent self-evaluation skills by
giving them tools to assess, revise, and improve their work.

7. Scenario-based assessment

Scenario-based assessment is based on interactive scenarios that support active learning. A hypothetical setting is
constructed where students are expected to apply their theoretical knowledge under the scenario provided.

This assessment type allows students to broaden their learning beyond the constraints of a textbook or lecture by
applying their knowledge in real-world situations. It also enables the teacher to assess a student’s comprehension of
the subject matter more precisely by observing how students would apply newly learned information in practical
situations.

8. Oral assessment

Frequently prompted by questions or brief tasks, oral evaluations use the spoken word to evaluate students’
knowledge and skills. It provides a clearer picture of their skills, thought processes, and conceptual
misunderstandings. Additionally, it fosters a stronger sense of connection between teachers and pupils.

Oral assessment can take the form of:

 Presentations on a prepared topic (individual or group, live or recorded)

 Interviews or discussions
  Simulations

9. Gamified assessment

Gamified assessments are a more sophisticated form of traditional assessments that include Gamified assessments
are a more sophisticated form of traditional assessments that include game-based components in aptitude and
personality exams. These are quick and engaging due to their game format. However, The tests are based on
science and statistics, even though they are meant to be enjoyable