Reflection Module 5a

This module has helped me think about student-centered assessment in the following ways

Student Feedback

I learned that students have an active role in assessment in a student-centered classroom. I have completed projects in my class before, but I can't say that students were involved in the feedback process. I think I can see how this would benefit my students. If they can receive some peer feedback during and after the project, they can see another's point-of-view rather than their teacher's.

Challenge

A challenge that I will be facing is not developing an assessment plan that works for all students. This seems like an impossible task, but I will use the tools that I have gained from this module to help me. Student feedback and meaningful learning will be my focus on this project.

I must say that I completely failed the formative assessment in this module. On reflecting on how I assess higher order thinking, I can't say that I do a very good job. I know I have students working on activities to help them master a concept, but I'm not sure how much higher order thinking is taking place. I certainly need to work on how I assess students in this way.

My Ideas of Assessment

I have found some great resources through the Intel Education eReader. I think these assessments are just as helpful to the students as it would be for me. The checklist I found was great. It shows how students go through the steps of the scientific process. There were also conference questions that would be a great guide for me to use for students to see where they are in their project and give them feedback on what they need to work on. There was also a great rubric that can be given to students so they may see what is acceptable in their project.

What does my Assessment Plan look like?

The Assessment Planning table really helped me find and create some great ways to assess my student learning throughout the learning process. Here are some of the tools I will use:

• Critical thinking Checklist
• Diseased Ecosystem graphic organizer 
• Prior Knowledge Journal
• Conference Questions with groups
• Final Product Rubric
• Scoring guide

Final Thoughts

I have had concerns in the past about how I would assess student learning in a project based lesson. This activity has shown me some strategies and tools I can use to do just that. So much of my fears on project based learning are how will students receive a grade? What will I add to the grade book when students are finished with a project like this? I am still struggling with this, but now I have some great ways to assess my students.