Assessment with Mr. Holo

I worked with Chad Holo this week for my pre-assessment and teaching assignment. Mr. Holo is a Health Science and Introduction to Medical Science teacher at Esperanza High School. There is a Medical Sciences Academy at Esperanza for any and all students to be a part of. They take specific classes all year that prepare them for college studies in medicine. Students also graduate with a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) certificate that will help them work through college in the industry. It is a great and well known program and many teachers are involved in it.

I was able to talk with a handful of Mr. Holo’s students during break on the day that I was teaching one of his periods. I asked them about my pre-assessment technique and what they thought about it. The lesson they had was about sports and nutrition and then food safety rules. So I asked the students if they had read the articles Mr. Holo had assigned them as preparation for the lecture. Most of the students responded that they had and then I asked a follow up question about the type of diets that were described for the specific athletes mentioned in the articles. The students thought my questions were helpful and would help prepare them for the lecture.

Also the students mentioned that Mr. Holo would usually ask them questions throughout the lesson to see if they were listening or if they understood. Because of the nature of the content it was easy to ask the students for examples and personal experiences about the subject matter. For example, during the lecture about food safety rules  I asked questions like, “Have any of you had food poisoning?” or, “Do any of you plan on working in the food or restaurant industry?” These questions peak the students interest and help me to understand where the students are at in their understanding of the topics.

My findings for the pre-assessment were great and humbling. I realize that I was not asking as many questions or open ended questions as I needed to. I realized the importance and effectiveness of this tool as I observed Mr. Holo in the periods before I lectured for him. I think that if I knew the subject matter a little better and had prepared more that I could have asked better questions to assess the students. This experience showed me that I need to spend more time assessing and finding the right types of questions that will help the students open up to what they understand.