This week, we were paired with another student in CEP 813 and asked to provide them with feedback based on their created Rubric 4.0. This was a good process to go through, but it allowed me to inadvertently assess my assessment as well. It allowed me to see my project through a different lens and think about how to improve it. This assignment was beneficial because we were able to receive feedback on our assessment from someone who sees it from a different perspective. It is always good to have another pair of eyes to review your work. They tend to see things that we are blind to. Below is my peer assessment.
Author: Noelle Fleszar
Week 4: Final Rubric 4.0
Throughout this course thus far, we have been asked to research Formative Assessment and develop a rubric that can be used to assess whether an assessment is effective. Over the course of reading numerous articles, it has helped to shape my view of assessments. Assessments are tools that should be used to inform instruction, provide feedback, allow for self-evaluation, involve transfer or knowledge and so much more. Gone are the days of viewing assessments as tools for simply collecting data. Assessments should be used to gather actionable insights that push learning forward. To learn more about the many insights I received through my research, check out the Rubric below.
Week 3: Formative Assessment Creation
This week we were asked to create a Formative Assessment that meets the criteria for an effective assessment based on the rubric we created during this course. I created a Project-Based Assessment that I believe is an effective way to assess students understanding about the key multiplication content taught in 3rd grade. Below is the explanation of my assessment as well as a link to my Formative Assessment.
Formative Assessment Pyramid Project
Formative Assessment Reflection Document
1. Purpose for Assessments:Teachers have been giving assessments in education for decades as a tool to show what students learned. Assessments are typically designed to assess the content that has been taught so the teacher can gage whether the material was learned. Assessments should be designed in such a way that they can inform instruction (Shepard, 2000, pg.10). If the goal is for students to learn and gain knowledge and understanding, then an assessment used to simple gather data and not inform instruction does nobody any good. Assessments need to be provided during instruction so that the teacher can use what they learned about the students’ knowledge of the content to inform instruction (Shepard, 2000, pg.10 ; Guskey, 2010, p. 108;Trumbell, 2013). The assessment should inform the teacher to either reteach instruction, enrich, or press on to a new lesson. Assessments should also contain open-ended questions that require transfer of knowledge not simply rote memorization (Wiggins, 2005). Open-ended questions allow students to show their thinking more as well as show how they can apply what they have learned (Shepard, 2000). It is also important for the teacher to be able to provide feedback to give students to opportunity to create another iteration and thus deepen their understanding (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Assessments should not simply be multiple choice tests that they can guess their way through or memorize facts for, but rather assessments should require students to critically think about the content taught and apply it to show their understanding of the content (Shepard, 2000).
2. Assessment Name, Purpose, and Standards:The name of my assessment is the Pyramid Multiplication Project. The purpose of this assessment is to assess students’ understanding of multiplication arrays and solving in the area of a shape by having them create several arrays and write equations that solve for the area of each. This activity requires transfer of knowledge from the classwork they have done to performing a task where they need to create the problems and explain their solutions.
The standards this Formative assessment will assess are:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.B.5Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide.2 Examples: If 6 × 4 = 24 is known, then 4 × 6 = 24 is also known.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.3Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.DExplain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.6Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 3 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)
3. Student Learning Objectives: By the end of the assessment, I hope to learn that my students are able to:
- Construct arrays
- Write multiplication equations and solve for the product
- Show their understanding of the commutative property of multiplication.
- Clearly explain their steps and how to solve each multiplication problem
- Demonstrate a deep understanding of the process of multiplication
4. Rubric Criteria Reflection: I will explain how the design of my assessments reflects the 7 criteria outlined in Rubric 3.0: Open-Ended Questions, Teacher provided feedback, Timing of Assessment, Transfer of Knowledge, Student Self-Assessment, Using Assessment to inform instruction, Aligned with State Standards.
- Open-Ended Questions: The assessment that I designed is very open-ended mainly because it is a project-based assessment that could have multiple end products while still arriving at the right answers. In short, students need to create a pyramid by creating multiple arrays and writing in equations for each. There is not a specific number of layers or a specific size given for each layer. This is completely up to student choice.
- Teacher provided feedback: Project-based assessments allow for a lot of teacher feedback because it is an ongoing process that usually spans several days of work. Throughout the process the teacher will meet with them to discuss their progress and provide feedback along the way to help guide their understanding.
- Timing of Assessment: This assessment would be given after completing the lessons on over multiplication, arrays, area, and equations. However, due to the assessment being a part of a Flipped Math course, this allows for plenty of time for remediation or enrichment based on the results of this assessment.
- Transfer of Knowledge: Project-based assessments naturally require transfer of knowledge because they require students to apply what they have learned contextually to a real life situation where they need to create an end product. This assessment goes beyond answering questions on the page and requires students to create the problems, solve them, and create a product that represents their work. The last step is the student’s video explanation of their project that requires students to explain the steps they took to solve their problem. Being able to verbally explain your process requires deep understanding of content.
- Student Self-Assessment: Students are required to grade their project based on the rubric provided. They can use the rubric along the way to adjust their project to make sure it meets all the criteria.
- Using assessment to inform instruction: This assessment is part of a Flipped Math course that creates an environment perfect for remediation or enrichment based on the results of this assessment. Based on the outcome of this assessment, the students will either need reteaching or enrichment and will be given instruction accordingly.
- Aligned with State Standards: At the top of the assessments, students are given their learning goal that is clearly aligned with the State Standards listed above.
5. Technology Integration during the Assessment: During this assessment I plan on using the following technology:
Schoology: Will be used as the precursor to this assessment by housing all of the instruction students need in order to be prepared for this assessment. I will also be used to how this assessment document and the video explanation assignment portion of this assessment.
Google Docs and Drive: This assessment was created using Google Docs and will have a forced copy link provided for the students to use that is delivered to students within Schoology. Once students open the document link, they will create a copy and use that copy to track their progress through their assessment. Their document, once opened, will be automatically saved in their Google Drive accounts.Saw
Kaizena: Kaizena is a tool that I could use to provide differentiated instruction through the recording reading of this assessment.
References:
Shepard, L. A. (2000). The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture. The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture, 9, 4-14. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176145
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Hattie, U., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback, Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.
Trumbull, E. & Lash, A. (2013). Understanding formative assessment: Insights from learning theory and measurement theory. San Francisco: WestEd. Retrieved from www.wested.org/online_pubs/resource1307.pdf
Week 4: Rubric 3.0
Throughout the course, we continue to learn more and more about effective classroom assessments. As we read, we are encouraged to update our rubric to reflect new criteria we discover. I have added a few more criteria and deepened my explanations of others in hopes of creating a detailed rubric for assessing effective classroom assessments. Take a look at my new and improved rubric below.
Week 3: Assessment Genre
Many times teachers are given a type of assessment genre that is used across all grades to assess student understanding. Sometimes the assessments are a good showcase of what students know, other times they fall short. The assessment genre that I chose to take a closer look at was the End of Unit Math Assessments. These assessments are easily given as multiple choice tests that require very little transfer of knowledge. Many times students pass the test and then promptly forget what they have learned. Below you will find the link to my critical analysis of this assessment genre and my proposed solution for a more effective assessment.
Week 2: Rubric 2.0
This week we were asked to dig a little deeper into Formative Assessments to add a few more criteria to our originally Rubric 1.0. After reading through a few more articles, I decided to add two more criteria to my rubric; Transfer of Knowledge and Student Self-Assessment. I also took some time to tweak some of the wording from Rubric 1.0. My goal was to improve upon Rubric 1.0, so I hope that I did just that.
Annotated Exemplar: Week 1
This week we were asked to use our Rubric 1.0 to critique a past assessment that we have given. We needed to ask ourselves, “Does this assessment stand up to the rubric we created for an exemplar assessment?”. Many times, we as teachers, are required to give certain assessments as a benchmark for student learning. The assessment I chose to critique was one of these. I chose a Unit 1 test on Fractions that I gave to my 5th grade class last year. This was a required benchmark test. What I am finding is that even if an assessment is required, it does not mean that it is an accurate reflection on student learning. Student learning should be assessed using multiple platforms and not just one end-all assessment. It is important for the assessment to provide open-ended questions that require application, opportunity for teacher feedback and remediation, and is given in the middle of instruction to provide opportunity for reteaching. Many times the school system looks for easily quantifiable assessments, but often times those assessements lack the ability to fully assess student learning.
Below is my critique on a required unit math assessment that I assessed using Rubric 1.0.
- I would describe the design of this assessment as a test. The assessment I chose is a Unit 1 multiple-choice test for 5th grade that is being used to assess student learning after completing Unit 1 on Fractions.
- The purpose of this assessment is to determine the level of proficiency of students after completing the lessons in Unit 1 about Fractions.
- The assumptions that I have made about this test is that it is an accurate reflection of their knowledge of fractions. I have also assumed that this test shows students’ ability to apply what they have learned about fractions to everyday situations. By the end of Unit 1 it is assumed that students will be able to show proficiency on fractions by completing this multiple choice test.
Rubric 1.0 Analysis:
Using Rubric 1.0 to assess this Unit 1 Fraction Test, that this assessment does not quite measure up in any category. This assessment does not include open-end performance based questions to allow students to apply their knowledge. Instead, it gives straight forward multiple choice questions that require minimal application, but rather look for memorization of the process.
Although this assessment will allow for moderate teacher-feedback in the form of a grade, it does not provide enough opportunity for the students to take that feedback and improve upon their learning.
Furthermore, this assessment also lacks the timing factor to allow for adequate remediation. This assessment is an End-of-Unit test resulting in a final grade. This assessment is not used to test students learning throughout the lesson. Once they reach this test, it is usually a “too-late” scenario. However, this assessment is given after formative assessments are provided throughout the course of the unit. Students are given formative assessments that help to guide instruction and give teachers the opportunity to provide feedback and give remediation as needed.
Below is the Link to the Unit 1 Math assessment. Use Rubric 1.0 to critique this assessment yourself.
Rubric for Assessing Good Assessments
This week we were asked to create a rubric to assess what makes a good assessment. While reading through the articles by Shepard (2000) and Black (2010) this week, I began to critically reflect on my assessment practices as an elementary teacher. This assignment is transforming the way I look at the assessments I give. Are the assessments we give an effective tool used to assess students’ understanding of the content? Do the assessments utilized assess students’ ability to apply the knowledge they learned, or does it simply assess their acquisition of knowledge?
This rubric is my first iteration that critically looks at what makes a good assessment. Throughout this course, I will add to the criteria and descriptions. As I move through this journey of creating a rubric for assessments, I will continue to critically think about my use of assessments and where they fall on this rubric. I hope that it helps you to do the same.
References:
Shepard, L. A. (2000). The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture. The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture, 9, 4-14. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176145
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2010). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(1), 81-90. doi:10.1177/003172171009200119
Photo Credit:
Spanish, C. (2015, April 27). Make Standards-Based Grading a Reality in Your Classroom! Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://calicospanish.com/make-standards-based-grading-a-reality-in-your-classroom/
Week 6: Multi-Modal Presentation on Rethinking Education
During the duration of this course, we were tasked to work with a think tank on a wicked problem about education. My think tank chose to work towards finding solutions for Rethinking Education. Berger’s “A More Beautiful Question” encouraged us to ask What If, How, and Why questions to help us discover the issues, recognize the steps needed to make a change, and come up with solutions for implementation (Berger, 2014). We focused our attention on coming up with solutions for the following questions:
- How can we rethink education to ensure that it is individualized and responsive to the needs of each student while maintaining standards for rigor and effectively utilizing 21st century technological tools?
- How can we structure education for teachers to provide ample productive opportunities for collaboration to meet the needs of all students (e.g. lesson studies, curriculum planning, activity coordination and evaluation)?
Through research and discussion, we came up with a few solutions to answer our questions and solve our wicked problem. We realize that these solutions are not a panacea, but they are a step in the right direction.
Solutions:
- Rethink education so that it is individualized while utilizing 21st century technologies, developing critical thinking skills, and meeting reimagined state standards.
- Create an environment for both teachers and students to learn and collaborate locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.
Once we discovered some solutions to our wicked problem, we surveyed our Personal Learning Network of educators to find out their thoughts and opinions on our wicked problem and proposed solutions. Many of our solutions were well received, while others had doubters. We understood that not everyone would agree 100% with all the solutions we proposed, which makes Rethinking Education a wicked problem.
For more information on our wicked problem, our process of inquiry, and our solutions, please view the multi-modal infographics below as well as the link to our survey. We hope you become as inspired as we did to Rethink Education!
Multi-Modal Infographic of Wicked Problem Solutions Link
Survey Link
Questioning Process Infographic Link
References:
Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. New York: Bloomsbury.
Week 7: Final Reflection Project
For our final blog post for CEP 812, we were asked to create something, anything that reflects what we learned from Warren Berger’s A More Beautiful Question and shows our Passion Quotient (PQ) and our Curiosity Quotient (CQ) (Friedman, 2013) and (Berger,2014). I chose to record an audio recording of a lecture that I wrote and animate it using Powtoon.
Throughout my speech I demonstrate my passion for education and how my love for technology and innovation has driven me to attempt to make a change in education. I show my curiosity through my thoughts and questions that do not necessarily have a definitive answer yet, but only possible solutions. Through reading Berger’s “A More Beautiful Question”, I have learned that it is within our wicked questions that amazing ideas and innovation live (Berger, 2014). If I have learned anything, it is to not be afraid to ask questions because through our questions come change.
Through the survey that my group conducted during this class, it became evident that many educators believe that there needs to be a change in education. My passion for innovation and teaching has been further ignited from reading this book and completing these projects. I plan to be a part of the change in education, by starting in my classroom. I will work to engage my students through inquiry, creativity, designing, and self-paced learning. There will be bumps along the way I’m sure, but I will learn through the process to improve and make a better classroom for my students.
I hope you enjoy the video I created to show my passion and curiosity for education.
References:
Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: the power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas. New York: Bloomsbury.
Friedman, T. L. (2013, January 29). It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q. Retrieved June 29, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/opinion/friedman-its-pq-and-cq-as-much-as-iq.html
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