WHAT ARE SOME USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR RECORDING STUDENT UNDERSTANDING IN AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

THERE ARE MANY STRATEGIES EDUCATORS CAN USE TO MANAGE STUDENTS LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING.
A FEW OF THE ASSESSMENT TOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS SITE HAVE BEEN FURTHER DEFINED BELOW.

 

JOURNALING IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR "SEEING INTO THE MIND" OF A STUDENT. JOURNALING ALLOWS TEACHERS TO "LISTEN" TO THE IDEAS OF EACH STUDENT WHILE SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN ADOPTING THE LANGUAGE OF MATHEMATICS TO COMMUNICATE THEIR IDEAS.

JOURNALING IDEAS BEST STEM FROM INTERACTIVE, EXPERIENCIAL LEARNING SITUATIONS THAT REVOLVE AROUND "BIG
QUESTIONS". THESE QUESTIONS CAN COME FROM TEACHERS OR FROM STUDENTS' LEARNING.

MODELLING IS THE FIRST STAGE OF JOURNAL WRITING. THIS IS FOLLOWED BY SHARED WRITING AND CO-AUTHORED WRITING EXPERIENCES WHERE STUDENTS DISCUSS THEIR IDEAS BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON PAPER. FINALLY STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO WRITE IDEAS OF THEIR OWN AFTER SHARING THEM ORALLY.

*PARAPHRASE BASED ON MATERIAL SUBMITTED BY LORI JANE HANTELMANN FOR THE 3-5 GEOMETRY WORKSHOP WHICH IS SPONSORED BY SASKATCHEWAN LEARNING.

 

RUBRICS ARE SIMILAR TO RATING SCALES IN THAT "THEY MEASURE STATED OBJECTIVES, USING A RANGE TO RATE PERFORMANCE." LEVELLED DESCRIPTORS REFLECT THE OBJECTIVES THE TEACHER AND/OR STUDENTS WISH TO ASSESS. RUBRICS ALLOW TEACHERS AND PARENTS TO SEE A BROADER PICTURE OF STUDENT EFFORT, UNDERSTANDING, THINKING SKILLS, AND APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE.

RUBRICS REQUIRE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO SPEND TIME IN DETAILED DISCUSSION BEFORE BEGINNING AN ASSIGNMENT OR TASK. "CHARACTERISTICS ARE ARRANGED IN LEVELS, INDICATING THE DEGREE TO WHICH A STANDARD HAS BEEN MET." STUDENTS CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE TEACHER AT EACH LEVEL FOR BEGINNING THE TASK OR ASSIGNMENT. STUDENTS ARE THEN ABLE TO PREPARE FOR AND REFLECT ON THEIR WORK MORE READILY. RUBRICS ALSO PROVIDE A CLEAR VISION FOR PARENTS AS THEY WORK WITH THEIR CHILDREN OR VIEW COMPLETED PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS.

 

*QUOTES TAKEN FROM SASKATCHEWAN LEARNING'S WEB RESOURCE BEST PRACTICES: PIECES OF THE PUZZLE (2003) PREPARED BY REGINA PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

HTTP://WWW.SASKSCHOOLS.CA/CURR_CONTENT/BESTPRACTICE/RUBRICS/INDEX.HTML

 

 

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT STATIONS ARE EXCELLENT OPTIONS FOR INTERACTIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING SITUATIONS. THIS TYPE OF ASSESSMENT HAPPENS DURING ONGOING STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION "DIAGNOSTICALLY TO INITIATE INSTRUCTION, FORMATIVELY TO GUIDE INSTRUCTION, AND SUMMATIVELY TO ASSESS THE DEGREE OF STUDENT PROGRESS." IT ALLOWS STUDENTS TO DEMONSTRATE A RICHER, DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CONCEPTS.

TO BEGIN A PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT TEACHERS MUST CHOOSE THE OBJECTIVES THEY WISH TO ASSESS AND ORGANIZE THE LEARNING STATIONS ACCORDINGLY. THEN TEACHERS FORMULATE A LIST OF SPECIFIC CRITERIA THAT WILL DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE OF THE STUDENTS. NEXT, TEACHERS CHOOSE A WAY OF RECORDING STUDENT PERFORMANCE. RATING SCALES, CHECKLISTS, ANECDOTAL RECORDS ARE SOME OPTIONS. FINALLY THE TEACHER SETS THE TASK OR PERFORMANCE SITUATION AND STUDENTS CONSTRUCT THEIR OWN LEARNING WHILE THE TEACHER COLLECTS THE SPECIFIED DATA.

STUDENTS NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF THE CRITERIA AND SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS THE TEACHER EXPECTS TO SEE. THIS GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THE SKILLS OR REQUIRED LEARNING TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THE STATIONS.

*TAKEN FROM CHAPTER FOUR OF SASKATCHEWAN LEARNING'S SUPPORT DOCUMENT STUDENT EVALUATION HANDBOOK (1991).

HTTP://WWW.SASKED.GOV.SK.CA/DOCS/POLICY/STUDEVAL/INDEX.HTML

 

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ALLOW TEACHERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROBE FURTHER INTO THE UNDERSTANDING OF STUDENTS. ALTHOUGH MORE TIME CONSUMING THAN SOME OTHER ASSESSMENT FORMS, INTERVIEW SESSIONS WITH INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS ALLOW TEACHERS TO FURTHER EXTEND ASSESSMENT PROVIDING A CLEARER PICTURE OF THE LEVEL OF STUDENT UNDERSTANDING. THROUGH QUESTIONING, TEACHERS CAN GET A "REAL" IDEA OF WHAT THE STUDENT KNOWS, THE CONNECTIONS HE OR SHE HAS MADE AND THE WAYS HE OR SHE THINKS.

AGAIN, INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ARE DERIVED FROM THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES TEACHERS CHOOSE. A SET OF QUESTIONS RELATING TO THESE OBJECTIVES ARE THEN DEVELOPED BY THE TEACHER. THESE QUESTIONS MIGHT SPECIFY THE TYPE OF MANIPULATIVE TO BE USED BY THE STUDENT IN ANSWERING OR THE STUDENT MAY HAVE ACCESS TO A VARIETY OF MANIPULATIVES AND CHOOSE FOR HIM OR HERSELF.

DEVELOPING A RATING SCALE OR RUBRIC FOR ASSESSING STUDENT ANSWERS AND MAKING ANECDOTAL COMMENTS WILL ALLOW THE TEACHER TO MAKE A COMPLETE YET BRIEF RECORD OF THE STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE. STUDENTS MAY ALSO USE A SCALE OF SOME TYPE TO RATE THEIR OWN ANSWERS IN THESE SITUATIONS. TEACHERS MAY THEN USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS PROGRESS AND FURTHER GOAL SETTING WITH STUDENTS.

 

CREDITS ATTRIBUTED TO SASKATCHEWAN EDUCATION. (1991).
STUDENT EVALUATION:
A TEACHER HANDBOOK
REGINA, SK:
SASKATCHEWAN EDUCATION.