Using assessment for learning by involving students
Students should be involved in the assessment process. They should know where they are going, what their destination looks like, and be able to communicate their learning. Here are some ways to do that:
Co-constructing Criteria
- explain the purpose of the assignment (relate to standards and class goals)
- show samples (good ones, medium ones, and bad ones)
- have students develop a rubric by thinking about the goals and considering the sample work
- students develop "I can" statements that you use as your daily objectives
Visual Rubrics
- The teacher put up samples of student work at various levels of quality.
- The students checked it out and compared their work to the visual rubric.
- The students could see which paper was most similar to theirs; therefore, they could see where they should be going by looking at the paper that was a step above theirs.
My Opinion:
I really like both of these ideas. I think that the visual rubric would work better for shorter assignments, like paragraphs or complex sentences. I tried using the co-constructing criteria in my classroom this week. The students examined several examples of persuasive essays. They came up with a list of things that the good papers did and how they did them. They also came up with a list of things the bad essays did so that they would remember what NOT to do. I took the criteria they came up with and made a rubric out of it. I put in all the notes about quality, but they discussed them in class. The next day, we went over the rubric together and changed a few things about it. I'll let you know how their papers turn out :) -elyse
...also, Davies was a GOD-AWFUL presenter.
...also, Davies was a GOD-AWFUL presenter.
This is so useful for writing assignments - showing examples of both strong and poor students writings. I wonder how useful it would be in Math.
ReplyDeleteThe key to making this work is to have examples, lots and lots of examples. This is a lot of work unless you are using the same assignment from a previous year. But it's definitely worthwhile - I definitely think that we often pass out rubrics that students have absolutely no idea how to interpret. Involving students in the process gives teachers important feedback as to how well they understand what they have to do. If students don't understand their goals, they can't take ownership of their own learning.
ReplyDeleteLisa - these strategies don't seem to work well with the black-and-white nature of math. You either did the problem right or wrong, there's no strong or poor examples. However, if we shift mathematical assessment to involve more explanations (whether written or verbal), then these strategies are much more useful. I'm still struggling with assessment of mathematical explanations, but it's definitely the direction we're trying to head to...