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Both of the readings this week provided a lot to think about. The chapter on reinforcing effort from the book "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works," by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski was eye opening for me in several ways. I had not ever really thought about specifically teaching students the relationship between their effort and achievement. I have always encouraged students to do their best work, to try even when it is hard, and to be responsible in and out of school. However, this was done in a conversational way, and has always just been an expectation rather than an instructed skill or practice. Before reading this chapter, I do not think that I would have even had an idea about how to teach students about effort. I loved the quote from the book that states "effort is the most important factor in achievement. Research shows that the level of belief in self-efficacy plays a strong role in motivation for learning and achievement. The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students' understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addresing their attitudes and beliefs about learning," Pitler, et al. I loved the aspect of having students track their effort and corresponding achievement by using spreadsheet software (something that my students can always use more practice using). Having a visual representation of a chart or graph in Excel along with a rubric for students to judge their level of effort against will provide a way for students to make the connection between their level of effort in class and at home with their grades and achievement. What a great motivational tool!

The chapter on assessment from the book "Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools," by Solomon and Schrum provided a lot to think about. Teachers today are so torn about what to focus on in instruction. Students have to perform well on TAKS, and this is always a focus and important at many levels. Teachers feel a lot of pressure to produce TAKS results, so it is very tempting for many teachers to work on TAKS skills in lieu of authentic assessments. In fact, it takes a lot of confidence in authentic assessments and project based learning to feel like you can go out on a limb and do something other than skill and drill traditional teaching. I have felt torn about these two seemingly opposite ends of the teaching spectrum myself! I loved the quote that states "Can assessment be authentic and simultaneously prepare students to succeed in the standardized testing they will face? Absolutely!" "Performance assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered," (Solomon and Shrum, 2007). This quote gives me comfort that if students can perform by applying skills and knowledge, then they will be able to perform well on a standardized test. I was fortunate enough this summer to attend a lecture by Grant Wiggins on assessment, and he said that if students have the ability to transfrer knowledge and skills learned to new situations, they have mastered the content. He equated this dichotomy to a soccer practice vs. a soccer game. If the coach just had the players do drills during practice, the players would probably get very good at the drills. However, when it came time for a game, the players would not know what to do because they had not been given the chance to practice their skills learned in an authentic situation. The same is true for academics. I think that more training is needed for educators so that we all can get on the same page and have confidence that we are doing what is best for kids by focusing on authentic assessments.