Extension: Classroom Connection
Student Activities
Try these activities with your students:
- Choose an activity formal or informal that
your students do several times during the semester (e.g.
read a novel, write a formal paper on an aspect of the reading,
give a booktalk, etc.). As a class, discuss criteria that
describe an excellent piece of work for that activity (work
that would deserve an "A") listing them on chart
paper or on an overhead slide. Then talk about what an inadequate
performance (a "D") would look like, suggesting
that a failing grade is reserved for no performance. Continue
to work together until you have developed a rubric for evaluating
that activity. Before students do the activity the next
time, have them review the rubric. After they have completed
their work, ask them to use the rubric for self-assessment,
writing an explanation for the score they assign. You may
wish to give them the option to revise their work to earn
a higher mark.
- With student help, create a check list that you could
use to assess the quality of group discussion. You may wish
to include things such as "connects response to earlier
comments," "doesn't interrupt," "refers
to passages in text to support a point."
Teacher as a Reflective Practitioner
Make a list of the tools you use to assess and/or evaluate
students. Your list might include informal writing such as
quick writes and literature logs; check sheets, quizzes and
tests, formal, graded writing, presentations and performances,
data from conferences, and portfolios. Chart your list items
under the following categories: Tool, what the tool demonstrates
about student learning, formal or informal assessment tool
(or both).
As you review your chart, ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I successfully tracking student learning with these
tools?
- Am I using a wide enough range of tools to allow students
to fully demonstrate what they know and what they know how
to do?
- Am I using an appropriate balance of formal and informal
assessment methods?
- What might I do to improve the assessment/evaluation in
my classroom?
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