Resource Evaluation

Link: Resource Evaluation

In the resource evaluation I was asked to evaluate a resource I may use for my Unit that I am building this semester. This evaluation had many questions regarding the accessibility of the text for a variety of learners. This required me to look at the organization, language, and clarity, purpose of the text along with many more aspects they may effect the readability of a text for students.

Performance Criterion 8.1 states that candidates use a variety of instructional strategies to make the discipline accessible for diverse learners. This means that I must be able to use multiple strategies to make sure that all of my students are able to obtain the information I am giving them. I believe this resource evaluation reflects that I am doing this, because I am reflecting on the given resource to make sure all of my students will be able to read this text. I also reflect on challenges students may have when I look at the resource and how I may got about handling these challenges. An example of this is my resource evaluation has me think about prior knowledge a student may need in order to fully comprehend this text. As I thought about the different background knowledge required I also thought about ways I may overcome obstacles if a student does not have background knowledge. One example is ELL students may have been taught different notations, and may find the notation in my resource difficult. I believe a situation like this would be a great learning experience for all of my students. Every student in the classroom can learn a new notation that is different from the one they are comfortable with, while also making ELL students comfortable with our notation. 

I believe one of the most important aspects for evaluating a text for a math lesson is the focus of background knowledge. Many math texts assume a student has a certain amount of knowledge around a given topic, and for many that may not be the case. When I evaluate a text that I want to assign to my class I need to think about how much background knowledge they have before they read the text. If I feel my students do not have the background knowledge to read the text I either need to pick a different text, or give supplemental information. Also, If I know how much background knowledge the text requires, I will have a better understanding of what may be an obstacle when my students are struggling.

The biggest thing I have learned about supporting all students is making sure the text is accessible to all students. This may mean extra resources that will help students better understand the text. This may also mean creating pre- during- and post- reading assignments that will scaffold the text enough for students to find the most important material. This will allow students to understand what the most important information is, and help them focus on particular pieces of the reading.