One education student's mission to never stop learning
Monday, October 5, 2015
James and the Giant Project
Assessment is a crucial part of the educational process, but it can be hard for teachers to break outside of the test and quiz norm. It is an important skill to develop however, as teachers need to be able to assess their students accurately, and tests rarely are able to show the full potential of all students. Another issue to consider is how to properly assess that students are actually learning properly under the Know-Be-Do Framework. To accomplish both of these goals, a teacher could create a Rich Performance Assessment Task (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). I personally love the idea of the Rich Performance Assessment Task. Essentially, Rich Performance Assessment Tasks, or RPATs, are large projects that require a significant effort on the students’ part. The task that they are expected to complete should be one that the students feel is worth doing, and that gives them authentic opportunities to use their skills and display their abilities and what they have learned (Drake et al., 2014). It also can involve some degree of authentic assessment, where the students are not just expected to memorize, but instead learn skills they will be able to use later in life, in more practical contexts! This video does a really great job of explaining (in a creative way!) what authentic assessment is.
Chelvanayagam, M. (2014) Authentic assessment. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlHUqHTxgLc
I realize now that I have completed Rich Performance Assessment Tasks in school, and personally I loved them. Creative projects are almost always more fun than taking a test, in my opinion anyways, and I feel like it can give students a better opportunity to fully show what they know. I remember completing an “Unconventional Book Report” in grade four on the novel James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl. We were given the option of either creating a short movie summarizing the book or a diorama that showed the main events of the book. Alternatively, we could write a short paper summarizing the book, but I do remember that NO ONE chose that option. The dioramas and movies that people made were all so different, and represented so many different ways of looking at the book. It demonstrated not just our memory of the events of the book, but also our abilities to identify important plot points, who the main characters were, and our presentation abilities, as we had to give a short talk about our projects, explaining them to the class. We had an amazing time completing this project, and learned so much from it.
This method of assessing is so valuable for teachers to keep in mind, and as future teachers we need to start considering things like this now. The website TeachHub offers suggestions for creative assignments that could be given at http://www.teachhub.com/40-alternative-assessments-learning With a little bit of creativity, teachers can find so many different ways to assess the Know-Be-Do areas of a lesson in their students, and make the classroom a dynamic and fun learning environment!
References
Chelvanayagam, M. (2014) Authentic assessment. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch v=tlHUqHTxgLc
Drake, S.M., Reid, J.L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford.
Your blog had a great explanation of the Rich Performance Assessment Tasks that are implemented in many classrooms. The video that you incorporated was a great way to showcase what RPAT encompass and how all students can benefit from this type of evaluation. I agree with you when you discuss the relevance of unconventional assessments, which allows the students to create their own guidelines and reflect on their learning applications. This type of assessment is truly authentic for the students and I believe that as educators, we should implement these RPAT throughout the year to allow each individual student the opportunity to create their own learning. I think it would be interesting to compare the different learning tools that students use and collaborate the information they generate as a group. I remember certain assessment tasks where we as students were instructed to create our own project to present our ideas to the class. It definitely solidifies the knowledge I learned during that specific assignment. To further the information in your blog, I think it would be beneficial to add information, or a related article, that describes ways to accommodate different grades and different subjects with the RPAT strategy. I think it would be more difficult to implement this with very young children, as they often require a lot of direction and guidelines to complete specific tasks. Additionally, how would the RPAT accommodate students who have learning adversities or other disabilities? It is always something to consider before implementing new assessment criteria. Great Work!
Hi Jane, You have chosen such an interesting topic, and one that is so relevant as future teachers! I agree with a lot of your research in the fact that many teachers struggle with assessing large projects so they rather create tests and assignments that require little to no creativity.
I can completely recall so many instances where my teachers in elementary school were able to give us some unconventional projects. One particular creative project I remember completing was when our class was discussing the topic of “recycling” where we could come up with any type of initiative that would promote recycling. I recall the options of creating a physical structure which promoted a large, hands on building type project, or an option of creating a written program that would help promote recycling. I remember that while many people built fancy operating “can crushers” and models of recycling programs or bins, many also wrote great plans about what they would do around the community. Having options to do a project that fits your learning needs makes all the difference as every single student is different!
Jane, The topic you have chosen is interesting for myself, because it is one that I have realized I fear, as I am having a difficult time thinking of ways that I will creatively assess students, considering I have gone most of my educational experience not being immersed in many RPATs. I was always the student who was able to memorize a ton of information and regurgitate it onto the test and carry on with life not recalling much of what I had aced. I actually remember in high school being given the option of writing a paper, creating a movie, or anything you wanted actually, and I picked the paper option because I felt that was what I was most comfortable with. I think it is interesting to think of different ways you can assess students, especially because as you have mentioned, many students are not able to accurately express what they have learned through a standardized test. My question for you however is how would this type of assessment be effectively incorporated into subjects such as math where completing formulas is mainly based on memorization? I really enjoyed the video that you posted, as it really helped me understand how RPATs are beneficial. Thanks for sharing! Candice
Your blog had a great explanation of the Rich Performance Assessment Tasks that are implemented in many classrooms. The video that you incorporated was a great way to showcase what RPAT encompass and how all students can benefit from this type of evaluation. I agree with you when you discuss the relevance of unconventional assessments, which allows the students to create their own guidelines and reflect on their learning applications. This type of assessment is truly authentic for the students and I believe that as educators, we should implement these RPAT throughout the year to allow each individual student the opportunity to create their own learning. I think it would be interesting to compare the different learning tools that students use and collaborate the information they generate as a group. I remember certain assessment tasks where we as students were instructed to create our own project to present our ideas to the class. It definitely solidifies the knowledge I learned during that specific assignment. To further the information in your blog, I think it would be beneficial to add information, or a related article, that describes ways to accommodate different grades and different subjects with the RPAT strategy. I think it would be more difficult to implement this with very young children, as they often require a lot of direction and guidelines to complete specific tasks. Additionally, how would the RPAT accommodate students who have learning adversities or other disabilities? It is always something to consider before implementing new assessment criteria. Great Work!
ReplyDeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen such an interesting topic, and one that is so relevant as future teachers! I agree with a lot of your research in the fact that many teachers struggle with assessing large projects so they rather create tests and assignments that require little to no creativity.
I can completely recall so many instances where my teachers in elementary school were able to give us some unconventional projects. One particular creative project I remember completing was when our class was discussing the topic of “recycling” where we could come up with any type of initiative that would promote recycling. I recall the options of creating a physical structure which promoted a large, hands on building type project, or an option of creating a written program that would help promote recycling. I remember that while many people built fancy operating “can crushers” and models of recycling programs or bins, many also wrote great plans about what they would do around the community. Having options to do a project that fits your learning needs makes all the difference as every single student is different!
Thanks for sharing!
Karley
Jane,
ReplyDeleteThe topic you have chosen is interesting for myself, because it is one that I have realized I fear, as I am having a difficult time thinking of ways that I will creatively assess students, considering I have gone most of my educational experience not being immersed in many RPATs. I was always the student who was able to memorize a ton of information and regurgitate it onto the test and carry on with life not recalling much of what I had aced. I actually remember in high school being given the option of writing a paper, creating a movie, or anything you wanted actually, and I picked the paper option because I felt that was what I was most comfortable with. I think it is interesting to think of different ways you can assess students, especially because as you have mentioned, many students are not able to accurately express what they have learned through a standardized test. My question for you however is how would this type of assessment be effectively incorporated into subjects such as math where completing formulas is mainly based on memorization? I really enjoyed the video that you posted, as it really helped me understand how RPATs are beneficial.
Thanks for sharing!
Candice