Howdoyouassesthat

Normal assessment. Homework, worksheets, tests, quizzes. Generally shows the sum of knowledge. There is value in the thinking of how students learn and increasing learning over time. Grades should be based upon how your learning has increased and the journey is much more important sometimes than the end result. Formative assessments are necessary for showing and assessing actual learning.

Identify what you are working for. Rather than the pieces of content, what are the most important ideas you are trying to get across? As you think of this, what content and skills are needed to get there?

The project should be what they do with knowledge. Many times we give projects and students don’t get there and we cannot figure out why. Students also cannot understand why their grade is the way it is when they believe they did a great job. How can we help them get there?

Rubrics are great but are vague to many students. They assess soft skills, process, and offer levels of achievement. Many students do not understand rubrics. Grading can be difficult. Here the project rubric is based upon the bog ideas and providing evidence from the learning experiences in class.

Introductory learning activities to set the stage and get them thinking. Use for content knowledge. Use critical thinking questions and analysis as homework to check on the work of individual students. Use formative assessments to provide feedback.

Lab activities provide access and use of content. Will also provide the evidence for the project at the end.

Open ended questions allow formative feedback to correct learning in the classroom and teach students to self-correct. Students learn better how to learn.

Checklists are easy to understand. Students generally like these the best. Can check their work as the requirements are seen up front. Easy to grade and generally checks for knowledge and not process. Need to be detailed for students to understand what they missed.

Formative assessment allows comments that push students thinking. English teachers have this mastered and many teachers can learn from this. Really, students should have the opportunity to rewrite for learning. This is a skill that not all students have and can go a long way for students to feel good about their work and see the joy of imrpovement.

Use of inquiry activities to tie in background knowledge and check understanding. More than content, it shows process and technical skills.

Is authentic in nature, Assesses the process skills instead of knowledge, Requires collaboration to make a successful measurement, Encourages risk taking and possibly failure - this is really the only way we learn and grow, Agreed upon criteria is know in advance, Students actively demonstrate what they know, Improves instruction of knowledge and soft skills required to meet standards as difficulties and learning progress are ongoing, Students use higher levels of knowledge and show greater interest when facts are organized around big concepts or ideas, Allows for differentiationDisadvantages: Need a risk-free environment, Reflection required to analyze and self-correct, Requires more time and planning, More time is spent also in coaching students individually, May not be equitable (technology), Students good at memorizing are intimidated by this

Advantages* Provides feedback for group dynamics* Have all students grade each other to create an average and understanding of group dynamics* Students who work in groups generally like their classes more, grading process is important* Grade to a set standard and not as a comparison to other members* Consider using with a student contract of expectations for the content and the way they interact with each other* Using activities that cause others to rely on group members as well as come together to reach a consensus helps groups function* Have students create a plan for completing project and assess progress towards goals* Makes a project grade more equitable - not every member gets the same group evaluation grade but they receive the same project grade* Use with a reflective piece that shows big understandings each person takes away from the project. Will show level of engagement and interaction of student during the work process* Can grade improvement in process over time* Can use open-ended questions such as: What went well/not so well and why? What have you learned from the experience? What can you do differently the next time? How did you support the process? How did you contribute to the project?* Have students provide artifacts - For ex., \"Took a leadership role in the group\" would require a concrete example of where they did this.Disadvantages* Not all assessments are perfect and may not assess specific aspects of group dynamics* Can have students be \"too critical\" or \"too nice\" - using an average helps with this* Be clear. For example, be sure you identify what \"outstanding group interaction\" is* May lead to conflicts or competition* Does not adequately show contributions in a group. Inadequate work on behalf of a group member may not be seen. Does not always see the group dynamics.* Grading of \"work logs\" can be tiresome and difficult to assess (many times I require 2 good sentences each day of accomplishments of individual members in the group). May not be reliable.

Example biome project of learning to question. Discuss specifics and what you did. Value laden decisions. Create checkpoints to keep them on task. Pop quizzes to see what they know and who knows what. Use peer review for additional feedback (looking at the writings of others makes one more critical and analytical at their own.)Use reflection:Advantages* Students learn to internalize information and reflect on their learning* Use creative ways to transfer learning* Allows for differentiated learning options* Increases communication (mostly written) skills* Requires students to go over previous material, activities, grades, and comments to connect artifacts* Identifies level of engagement in daily/group workDisadvantages* Students who consider themselves not creative may struggle* May not be considered \"academic\"* Students do not naturally think deeply about the content of the process and need to learn these skills* Most students will not expand on ideas or provide concrete examples - this is another learning process for them

Creating inquiry questions.

Remember to write enough to increase learning. How can you make them look it over again? How can you build on their knowledge?