Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Assessment

Describe how you will assess at least one of your instructional activities.  What tools will you use to assess your students? What will you create to collect data for this assessment? How will you know if students have mastered the concept?

14 comments:

  1. One of my instructional activities requires that students in a group solve a challenge problem in order to find the surface area and volume of a complex 3-dimensional figure. Once they have solved the problem they turn it in to the teacher for corrections and suggestions. In the next class they create a poster to do a presentation to the class about how they solved their challenge problem. I will be able to assess the groups understanding when they turn in their work for corrections, during their presentation to the class, and while they are initially solving the problem. I think it is crucial to be continuously walking around the class while students are working on an assignment and asking questions of "why" and "how" they got to their solutions. If they can accurately complete the challenge problem it also shows me that they have knowledge and understanding of area, surface area, volume, of simple geometric shapes that build up the complex figure. I also would like to give either a homework or worksheet to fill out individually how to find surface area and volume of complex 3-dimensional figures of a few examples. Then a table to fill out of the necessary area formulas to solve the problem.

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    1. Awesome! I completely agree with you that it is important to be asking why and how students got their solutions because it give you a lot of information in terms of what they do know. The table is also great resource for them to use later.

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    2. Holly you have several approaches to assessment here. Having students work in small groups to collaborate and show their work individually should give you a good idea of whether students have mastered the concept.

      I like the idea of having the students present their approach with a poster. Be sure to include a rubric and criteria chart so that students can monitor and assess their own work. If you are trying to determine if students have mastery it would be best to have one or two problems at the end of your lesson where students can solve and show their work and explain their thinking. The problem with a worksheet that they take home is you don't know who is helping them. Think about using a performance based assessment instead.

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    3. I like how you assess before, during, and after. Asking open ended questions such as "why" and "how" isn't enough to me. I believe asking specific questions that involve "why" and "how" will help lead the students on the direction you like to steer them towards. Asking specific questions give you narrow answers which you can use to accurately determine how to help your students.
      I also like the idea of your students turning in an assignment and you correcting it. It gives you a sense of how students are grasping the concepts. Also students presenting the ideas to the class helps recipicate the knowledge learned.

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  2. I have an activity where my students will need to create their own problem as a pair, in which they will need to use the Pythagorean theorem. I will assess this activity by circulating the room as they work on it and observing how students are doing. I will also ask relevant questions, such as "Which triangles can we use the Pythagorean theorem on?" or "Which side is always called the hypotenuse?". Their responses to these questions will structure how I can guide the rest of the activity if needed. Finally, after these problems have been created, they will also have to develop a thorough answer key for their problem. I can assess their understanding from looking at their solutions. The pairs of students can also trades problems with other pairs, and again, their solutions (which would be shown in multiple representations) would give me a understanding of how they are understanding the material.

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    1. I think this is great. Your letting the students create their own problems having them find the solution and in the process are scaffolding them with directed questions. Sounds good!

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    2. Cera,
      Questioning is an effective means of assessing students understanding. At the same time it should also be a means of giving students support in accomplishing the task. Can you ask some open ended questions that would assist students in this process? The questions you include here are "knowledge" based questions and there is only one answer thus this may come across as evaluate and prevent students from constructing their own knowledge. You might say "what can you tell me about the sides of this triangle" Then you can get a more comprehensive perspective of what students know rather than what they do not know. Keep note of students responses using a log which would help you in seeing the gaps in students' understanding. Remember you will have 5 periods and 150 students so it is imperative to have a system in place to record informal assessment.

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    3. I like your idea of circulating around and listening to the students because I have a similar idea. Furthermore, this can promote the class as student-centered, which will be more efficient for student learning the content.

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  3. One of my activities deals with students solving equations and inequalities in groups using manipulatives(candy). After the students finish working on the problems in their groups I will give the students a post exit quiz. the quiz will consist of 2 problems similar to 4x=x+12 and have them find the solution. I will also have a space towards the bottom of the quiz for them to let me know what they are still confused or need more assistance on whether that is the vocabulary or combining like terms. This will allow me to quickly see by looking at these quizzes if the students have mastered this concept.

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    1. Hi Lane,

      Sounds like a yummy activity. Students love candy. You could even have students create their own word problem using the manipulatives provided. This would tap into more of the higher levels of blooms taxonomy "create". I like the idea of giving a exit quiz if it is immediately after the activity it should be something similar so that students can transfer their knowledge.

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  4. One of my activities was to figure out which sum is most likely to appear when you roll 2 dice. I will be circulating around to ask questions and listen to what the students are saying. If the students know that the sum of 7 is most likely going to appear when two dice are rolled, then I know that the students are starting to grasp the idea. Furthermore, I will ask them to explain to me and other students why 7 is most likely to appear when 2 dice are rolled.

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  5. My topic is about area of triangles. My activity involves students discovering the formula for the area of a triangle. They are using objects and their group mates to help find a method for finding the formula. At the end of the activity, I will have students answer a "find the area of a triangle" problem. Students cannot leave class unless they hand me that "exit exam" paper to me.

    My assessment is summative and I will know students have mastered the task at hand when they are able to do the "exit exam" paper. At the end of the day, I will review the papers handed to me and see how many students understand today's lesson. If many students do not satisfy my expectations, then I will have to use some of tomorrow's class time to go over the material.

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