Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Module 4: Planning Student Centered Assessment

Tonight we focused on creating student-centered assessments.  You explored a variety of assesment strategies and drafted an assessment timeline for your unit plan that meets all of the purposes for assessing students and defines clear expectations and standards for student work.  Like all good assessments, this plan should involve students in reviewing and managing their learning progress during the course of the unit. As you reflect on your work tonight, please answer the following questions:
  • How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit?
  • How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them?
  • How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
Once you have posted your thoughts, reply to the post of at least one other participant. You may ask them a question, comment on their good ideas, or even disagree (respectfully), as long as you are saying more then just, "I agree" or "Good job".

22 comments:

  1. • How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit? Intel websites, communication with my group, finding student centered assessments
    • How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them? Assessments make me aware of my student’s progress by allowing me to check what information they have learned already and what information they still need help with.
    • How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning? Because they allow for higher level thinking, open ended assessment questions and allowing students to participate in the process.

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  2. • How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit?
    Our group went into Intel Website
    • How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them?
    The assessments are geared for what they are doing and it will not be a general assessment. I will know were they are and what is complete.

    • How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    These let the students do higher level of thinking and use the thinks they know or are going to use.

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  3. Greg-I think as we progress through this model that we make sure that these are not general assessments and that we give students an opportunity to be creative.

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  4. We want to have a big final project so we wanted to use a rubric, but we thought that having the students help to create the rubric would help motivate them. I also think it will add an interesting level of rigor since my students often grade themselves harder that I do.
    We choose to use a checklist will help me and my students to keep on track and the wiki will help me to ask for understanding and see what kind of questions are being asked. I think that both elements will let me watch how my students are progressing and make adjustments or add students falling behind.
    We wanted the students to work independently, and I think that the assessments used while they are working, will help the students to stay on track.

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  5. Mrs. Etcheverry
    Great stuff we were working very well this week and we got a lot done. We really need to have the higher level of thinking.

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  6. How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit? I have been looking for project based, student self-assessments.
    How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them? I could definitely give my students more opportunities to self-assess. I do most of the work and know that they are capable of assessing and reflecting on their own progress and work.

    How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning? My assessments need to be on the higher level of blooms...they need to look at the students THINKING rather than just a rote product. My students need to be creators of the THINKING and assist each other in developing their own thinking.

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  7. I like that you wanted to assess the thinking your students are doing not just the final product.

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  8. How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit? By researching project based, student self-assessments, and rubrics that students can follow esp. for technology.

    How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them? Giving students the tools they need and being their monitor allows them to feel ownership to their education.


    How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    They are pretty well on tract. Everything is becoming student-centered.

    Learning is a process rather than a final product. I feel that in the elementary/middle school level we are building a foundation for student survival in highschool and adulthood. If we give them a clear understanding of "tools" they can utilize them to become effective 21st Century citizens.

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  9. Austin,

    I agree with the fact that open-ended assessment questions are needed.

    It is very rare that life is set in just black and white.

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  10. We utilized the intel website, the text, and other E3 units to plan for high quality, student-centered assessments with various purposes. On the kinder level, we included a KWL chart, checklists w/small group conferences, and a rubric for the end product.

    Student responses to questions, their progress on the checklist, and discussions in small group conferences will make me aware of student progress.

    Our assessments fit with our taxonomy of learning because students will learn self-direction by utilizing a checklist and self evaluation. Additionally, students will be out of their element, therefore forced to think critically and solve problems in the process of completing their project.

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  11. To Ms. Quarles: I love that your students will have input in designing the rubric. It will be interesting to see what attributes they value. I'm thinking the self evaluation will be so much more powerful when students set their own (high as you mentioned) standards and expectations.

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  12. I plan for high quality assessment by having a variety of questions that include open ended and closed types of questions. In addition, the forms of assessment need to align to the lessons being taught. For example: one of our goals is to have students create a persuasive public service announcement about the environment and the assessment needs to correlate (AKA- a rubric needs to be created by both teacher and students that identifies all the qualifications of presentation that meets and exceeds standards).

    If the assessment was high quality, then it will allow me to see what areas students are excelling in and what areas they may need more support and feedback.

    We have chosen to use rubrics and checklist to have students show that they have applied their knowledge. Students will then be evaluating their peers and their own projects so that they meet blooms taxonomy of evaluating.

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  13. How did I plan for a high quality assessment?
    My group planned for the students to assist us in making the rubric that we are going to use thorughout the unit. Bye doing this the students will take ownership in their learning and be more motivated.
    How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them?
    Assessments make me aware of my student’s progress by allowing me to check what information they have learned already and what information they still need help with.
    How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    These let the students do higher level of thinking and use the thinks they know or are going to use.

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  14. Chantell,
    You made some valid points. I really like the fact that you used Bloom's Taxonomy.

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  15. To Ms Quarles:

    I completely agree that having student input on the rubric will help motivate them. That's an interesting and often true statement that student often grade themselves and their peers harder than teachers. Keeping students "on track" is always an issue and it sounds like you have a good plan in order to accomplish this goal.

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  16. How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit? I planned for high quality assessment by looking at the final project and planning backwards to meet the students needs as they work towards the final project.
    How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them? The assessments can monitor the students progress as they move towards the final project and also check for their understanding.
    How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    The assessments will help create a positive attitude in the classroom by having students create their own rubric and self assessments, timelines they need to follow, and having them critically think about their projects.

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  17. to Austine: Yes, they do allow for students to think on a higher level. I totally agree with you in that open ended questions allow ALL students to participate.

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  18. To Jay: I really like your idea about planning backwards. I really gave me an insight on how I should plan my unit.

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  19. How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit?
    *By looking at each of the performance objectives and planning out what they need to know and how they need to know it. Many times, we are asked to give students assessments that are clearly unaligned with what or how we are teaching a concept.
    How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them?
    * Assessments can help guide instruction and allows the teacher to know whether students are on track towards reaching to goal. The lessons can then be modified to help fill holes in their learning, or provide them with further enrichment for those who may be up to the challenge.
    How have the assessments I have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    * The assessments we have chosen will help to facilitate their own learning. Through the use of rubrics, they will be asked to develop their skills in both self-reflection and collaboration.

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  20. To Jay-
    I have been finding that with working on our Weekly Skills Tests in reading that it is really important to do the whole backwards design thing. That way I can be sure that I'm setting them up for success by aligning how the information is being assessed.

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  21. • How did I plan for high quality assessment throughout my unit?
    Our group went into Intel Website and made use of the tools there.
    • How do my assessments make me aware of my students' progress toward meeting the objectives and standards I have chosen for them?
    The assessments are geared toward finding out what students are thinking and allows them to verbalize in print what they are thinking.
    • How have the assessments we have selected align to the thinking skills I have chosen for my students in my taxonomy of learning?
    The assessments take the students to a higher level of thinking and actually gets them to think further than they would have had I used another form of assessment.

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  22. Misha,
    I agree that having students create their own rubric is an excellent idea! They really are harder on themselves than others would be. It gives them more incentive

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