Portfolio Self Assessment

Core Beliefs about Assessment:

1)      Assessments should take place in the middle of the teaching/learning process instead of only at the end of a unit. There are two main reasons for this:

a.       Data from assessments should be used by the teacher to gain insight on students’ progress towards learning objectives, and to inform and adapt instruction accordingly.

b.      Assessments should allow students to identify which concepts they are able to demonstrate understanding of, and where misconceptions exist.

2)      Feedback is an important aspect of an assessment. This course has taught me to think about feedback as exchanges between a teacher and students.

a.       Teachers can receive feedback from their students to share how they learn best, what is going well and suggestions for improvement.

b.      Students can receive feedback from teachers on specific learning goals to aid in misconceptions gaps being closed.

c.       Feedback can and should be given to students in different ways. Students can receive annotated comments on their work, video feedback and text feedback to name a few of the different methods for communicating feedback.

3)      Assessments should allow students the opportunity for self-assessment. This engages students in analyzing their work and building ownership of their learning.

4)      Assessments should occur in different ways and take different forms. Along with typical quizzes and tests, students can be assessed through portfolios, discussions and even by having students play or create their own games. Assessments can be something physical students can touch, like a test on a piece of paper they will write on, or assessments can be electronic as well. There are many affordances (and constraints) of digital assessments, and it is important for teachers to utilize available avenues to effectively assess students.

5)      Content Management Systems can be utilized to offer a variety of tools for assessing students, along with monitoring students’ progress. CMS’s are useful for students and teachers to stay organized with assignments all being stored in one place, along with all grades being updated and contained within the CMS.

Original Three Beliefs about Assessment:

Below are the three things I believe about assessment that I wrote in my very first blog post for this course:

1)      I believe that dialoguing and interacting with students is a great way to asses them.

2)      I believe that it is important to use a combination of different types of assessment in order to evaluate student learning.

3)      I believe that assessment should be done frequently.

My first two original beliefs fall into point #4 mentioned in my core beliefs above, and my third original belief falls under point #1 mentioned above. While I do agree with these beliefs still and I think that they coincide well with my core beliefs about assessment developed throughout CEP 813, I have learned from this course that there is more to assessment than just these original ideas.

The learning and readings in the first three modules really opened my eyes to assessment being more than just gaining insight on where my students are at in their understanding and progress towards learning goals. Effective assessments should be used to inform and adapt instruction. It is important to see what students understand and where misconceptions exist, however this information must be used by a teacher to make changes to the instruction process to help students grow and make progress. At the end of module 2, I shared the following on Twitter about how my beliefs have expanded.

I have also learned that assessments are not just meant to inform the teacher, they are meant to inform students. An effective assessment will allow students to gain insight on their progress towards learning goals and misconceptions that exist in their learning. Students should receive some sort of feedback or interaction with their teacher or peers in order to grow after an assessment. At the end of module 3 I shared the following on Twitter regarding the development of this belief.

CEP 813 Application of Beliefs:

My creations throughout this course have allowed me to apply these beliefs. First, I would like to share about my CMS Assessment. For this assignment I created a portfolio assessment that requires students to schedule a 30-minute check-in session with me. Students will first send me a webmail to schedule an appointment. Then, at our scheduled time they will meet in my LiveLesson room. During the meeting we will discuss the students’ progress in the course, strategies for success and we will practice problems together as well. After our meeting, students will submit a one page reflection about our time together and changes that can be implemented if necessary in order to be more successful.

This assessment requires students to use various tools within our CMS such as webmail, LiveLesson and uploading a document into the drop box. During our time together I will be able to gain a great deal insight on my students’ progress and what I can do specifically for each of my students to support them. It will be helpful to discuss with my students their daily process for working through their lessons in order to give suggestions, and I will be able to watch students solve problems and see their thought process to close misconception gaps. Students will receive synchronous feedback from me during our meeting together to help them with the content and also strategies for success. Students will be given the opportunity to ask any questions that they may have as well. Lastly, students are encouraged to spend time reflecting after our meeting as they work on their one page reflection. Students will be inspired to consider what is going well and any changes that can be implemented.

My Assessment Design Checklist 3.0 also demonstrates my ability to apply my beliefs. Although this creation is not an assessment for students, this checklist was created from the beliefs that I developed in this course. I used this checklist as a guideline when creating my assessments in CEP 813, and I will continue to use it in the future. I will ask myself the following questions each time I create an assessment:

-Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives?

-Does my assessment allow for exchanges between the teacher and student for learning opportunities?

-Does my assessment reveal information regarding how future instruction should be adapted to advance my students’ understanding?

-Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment?

-Does my assessment align with objectives and learning goals?

Lastly, I would like to mention my Game-Based Assessment. This assessment utilizes technology to assist students in playing a game to check their understanding of adding and subtracting integers. Students will receive feedback not only from myself to gain insight on their progress towards and understanding of learning goals, but they will also receive feedback from their classmates during a discussion they will have after playing the game. I will gain insight on student misconceptions from the game specifically and also from their work that is submitted after the game in order to inform my instruction on this topic going forward. Like my CMS assessment, students will answer a couple of questions after playing the game to encourage self-assessment.

Coming into this course I had beliefs about assessment that, while they were valid, they were incomplete. This course really helped me to grow and develop my full beliefs of assessment that I will use as a teacher going forward. Thank you for this opportunity!

Game-based Peer Assessment

Awesome job creating your twine game Brittany! I love the videos and pictures that you embedded into your game, they really enhance your game in terms of keeping students engaged. The game requires students to have an understanding of potential and kinetic energy.  There isn’t necessarily a consequence if students don’t understand this, because if they answer the first question incorrectly they are given the opportunity to learn from their mistake and try again.

However, when considering other consequences of the game, the main consequence that comes to mind is students not having a good understanding of the different energy sources, because this will affect their ability to debate and defend their choice against their classmates. You do a great job of giving information to students about each of the different energy sources within the game, so if students take the time to review and compare the different energy sources they should be able to gain enough understanding of each source in order to be prepared for the debate and to defend their choice.

There are a couple question from my ADC 3.0 that I think your game does a great job of addressing:

Does my assignment align with objectives and learning goals? This is addressed within the game itself. Your semiotic domain focuses on the basic science of energy, and the game teaches students about the difference between kinetic and potential energy, and also the different energy sources. This information aligns with your semiotic domain and learning objectives.

Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives? This will mainly be addressed during the debate after the game. You will really get some good insight on students’ progress towards the learning objectives and their understanding of the energy sources from the debate and how well students are able to defend their choices.

Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment? I love your exit ticket asking students if they want to switch the energy type they selected and explain why or why not. This gives students the opportunity to reflect on their choice and the choices of their classmates, and to reassess if they made a good decision or if they would like to change it. This is a great opportunity for students to self-assess!

Overall you did a great job and I love what you created. It seems like this game could be used in place of a lesson or lecture on energy since it shares a ton of great information with students on the different types of energy. One suggestion that I have is after students look through each of the 5 energy sources, give different situations representing the different energy sources and have students select which energy type it exemplifies. This is one way you could add an assessment piece to see how well students understand the different energy sources within the game.

Game-Based Assessment - Back and Forth Integers Game

I have created a game called Back and Forth as an activity to use to assess my middle school mathematics students on adding and subtracting integers.

Students will play this game against a classmate, and it involves a dice and a number line. Students will start at 0 on the number line and roll the dice 5 times. After each roll, students will have to choose if they want their number to be positive or negative to determine which direction to move on the number line. Positive numbers will move to the right, and negative numbers will move to the left. The goal of the game is the end as close to 0 as possible, so whoever ends closest to 0 will win.

Check out my game using the following link: Back and Forth Integers Game

There are two main aspects of procedural rhetoric involved in this game. First is the use of a dice; students will only be able to roll a 1 through 6. The second aspect is the movement along a number line, students can only move to the right or to the left. Because of these procedures, this game is reinforcing addition and subtraction since students can only move right or left on the number line, and it is reinforcing the adding and subtracting of integers because of the limited number options on a dice.

The procedural rhetoric of Back and Forth emphasizes the internal grammar being assessed during this game, which includes students understanding of integers/positive and negative numbers, and how to add and subtract integers. If students do not understand the internal grammar, there will be consequences because of these procedures. For example, if a student rolls a 5 and chooses the positive direction, and then rolls a 6 and chooses positive again, by not understanding the internal grammar of adding and subtracting integers there will be the consequence of moving farther away from 0 and lowering the opportunity to win.

Back and Forth also involves discussion and reflection which emphasizes external grammar. After the game is played, students will discuss their strategy with each other and why they made the choices they did along the way. This will help with the external grammar of being able to communicate mathematics language with others, and it will help students see where they could have made a different choice and receive feedback from their peers. 

Students will play the game a couple of times against different partners to try different strategies and to see what works best. When students are done playing, they will complete a reflection assessment answering the following questions:

-Is the game fair? Do both players have an equal chance of winning? Explain.

-What strategies work best to win the game? Why?

-How could you figure out who wins the game without using number lines?

-If the object of the game was to end farthest from zero, how would that change the winning strategies?

-What are two ways you would change the game to make it more challenging and fun to play?

I will be able to assess students understanding of adding and subtracting integers from this reflection based on their strategy and understanding of the game. I have also decided to have students turn in their number lines and recording charts to check whether students added and subtracted correctly by moving to the correct spot each turn (for example, if they roll a positive 2 and then a negative 3 they should end up at -1). This will give me insight to understanding of internal grammar, and I will gain clarity on students ability to communicate clearly the external grammar by listening to students conversations and reading their responses on the reflection.

A couple aspects of my ADC checklist are accounted for from this assessment. My questions “Does my assignment align with objectives and learning goals?” and “Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives?” are addressed within the game itself. The learning goals of this assessment are adding and subtracting integers, and the students have to do this as they move through the game rolling the dice. The game will also provide me with insight into my students’ ability to think critically and to add and subtract integers.

My questions “Does my assessment allow for exchanges between the teacher and student for learning opportunities?” and “Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment?” will be accounted for with the other activities involved. Students will not only receive feedback from me, they will receive feedback from their classmates during the discussion that occurs after each game is played. Students will also be able to self-reflect after each game and with the short reflection they will submit after playing the game multiple times against different classmates.

I hope you enjoyed reading about and playing my game :)

Game-based Assessment Plan

I will be creating a game that my students will play to use as an assessment activity with middle school math students. My semiotic domain is my mathematics classroom and the math content that I teach to students. The internal grammar of my domain are the vocabulary, definitions, properties, symbols, formulas, etc. that are used to regulate math concepts. The external grammar includes how to communicate math solutions and discuss math processes with others.

For this assessment I am going to focus on adding and subtracting integers. The specific internal grammar involved are the definitions of integers, positive and negative numbers, and rules for adding and subtracting. The external grammar focuses on a student’s ability to discuss their strategy for the game with others and why they chose to proceed as they did.

My game will involve a dice and a number line. Students will start at 0 on the number line and roll the dice 5 times. After each roll, they will have to choose if they want their number to be positive or negative to determine which direction to move on the number line. The goal of the game is the end as close to 0 as possible. This game will be played against another student, so whoever ends closest to 0 will win.

In Twine students will be directed to roll a dice, and then they will have to make a choice between positive or negative. There is a factor of chance in this game that will dictate how a student does, however there is strategy as well. If a student rolls a 5 and chooses the positive direction, and then rolls a 6 and chooses positive again, by not understanding the internal grammar of adding and subtracting integers there will be the consequence of moving farther away from 0 and lowering the opportunity to win.

I will pair two students together and have them play against each other. They will each play in Twine, and after tracking their 5 rolls the students will compare their paths and their end point on the number line to see who wins. In order for this game to be an effective assessment, I will have students discuss their strategy with each other and why they made the choices they did along the way. This will help with the external grammar of being able to communicate mathematics language, but it will also help students to see where they could have made a different choice and to give each other feedback.

I will have students play the game a couple of times against different partners to try different strategies and to see what works best. I will be able to assess students in a couple of ways. First, the choices they make and their ability to move on the number accurately (for example, if they roll a positive 2 and then a negative 3 they should end up at -1), which will help me to see how well students understand adding and subtracting integers, the internal grammar. After playing the game a few times I will have students submit a short reflection on what strategies work best to win the game and why and if they think the game is fair for both players. This will also help me assess student understanding of adding and subtracting integers, and also the external grammar of being able to communicate in these terms clearly.

A couple aspects of my ADC checklist are accounted for with this assessment. My questions “Does my assignment align with objectives and learning goals?” and “Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives?” are addressed within the game itself. The learning goals of this assessment are adding and subtracting integers, and the students have to do this as they move through the game rolling the dice. The game will also provide me with insight into my students’ ability to think critically and to add and subtract integers.

My questions “Does my assessment allow for exchanges between the teacher and student for learning opportunities?” and “Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment?” will be accounted for with the other activities involved. Students will not only receive feedback from me, they will receive feedback from their classmates during the discussion that occurs after each game is played. Students will also be able to self-reflect after each game and with the short reflection they will submit after playing the game multiple times against different classmates.

Stay tuned next week for a prototype of my game!

CMS Assessment

CMS Background: For this assignment I have created a portfolio assessment in Connexus, the CMS that I use to support students for my work. All of the curriculum and assessments within Connexus are designed by a curriculum team and are added into the courses that I teach. Connexus is still new and is only in its third year of use, or company has slowing been transitioning us from our old platform to this platform, so at this time teachers have not actually been using the assessment features in Connexus to create our own assessments. I do have flexibility to drop or modify assessments as I see fit, however this is the first time that I have actually used the assessment features within Connexus and created my own assessment that is built into my student’s course.

Purpose of my Assessment: Teaching online has many advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that it can be difficult to connect with some students synchronously. Students are not required to answer the phone when we call or attend our weekly Live Lesson sessions, so I have designed this portfolio assignment as a way for me to connect with each of my students in order to assess their understanding and learn how I can best support them.

Teaching Context: I have designed this portfolio for Geometry students, however this is an assessment that I plan to use with students in each of the courses I teacher. However for my Geometry course I have assigned this portfolio in the first lesson for Unit 3. Unit 3 is about 25% of the way into the course, and if students have not contacted me by this point in the semester it is a great opportunity for me to meet with them. There is still a lot of course remaining at this point for students to change their habits and to get students on the right track if necessary, so this is a good time for us to have a progress check-in. Also, Unit 3 is on Reasoning and Proof, which is often a challenging concept for students, so this is a great chance for me to work with students and support them with this unit.

Check out the screencast below to view my assessment:

Connexus Assessment Screecast

Assessment Design Checklist: There are a lot of aspects of this portfolio that match my assessment design checklist. My first question asks “Does my assessment provide me with insight regarding student progress towards learning objectives?” During the LiveLesson that will be scheduled for this portfolio, students will solve problems on the whiteboard and we will practice problems together, so I will be able to watch how students work out a problem which will reveal a lot of their progress towards to learning goals and also help me to understand where my students are at with objectives.

My next question is “Does my assessment allow for exchanges between the teacher and student for learning opportunities?” During our meeting together there will be a ton of opportunities for exchanges and interacting. Students will be able to ask questions, and I will be able to give content specific feedback along with suggestions on strategies for improvement.

Another question from my checklist that I would like to address is “Does my assessment provide students the opportunity for self-assessment?” My hope in having students write a one page reflection after our meeting is that they will spend time reflecting on what is going well this semester and any changes that can be implemented in order to be more successful. I will discuss this reflection with students during our meeting and encourage students to spend time reflecting as they write their paper.

Affordances/Constraints: There are 3 main features in Connexus that are being used for this assessment: 

First is the WebMail feature that students will use to schedule an appointment with me. One constraint that I see with this tool is that there will be some back and forth between myself and the student to schedule an appointment, as it will take both myself and the student time to get back to each other between messages while squaring away a time that works for both of us to meet. There is not an instantaneous chat feature that can be used to schedule our appointment. However, one affordance of the portfolio assessment I created is that in the setting options I have it set so that students can continue working through their course while our meet is being scheduled by leaving the box showed below unchecked.

The next feature is the LiveLesson tool, which is a wonderful tool for assessing. When students click on the link to my LL room they will be taken to a virtual room with a whiteboard and chat pod that is great for interacting and working on math problems together. We both have the ability to use our microphones so we can talk and use web cams which makes the interaction more personal. Students can use their mouse and keyboard to draw on the whiteboard and solve problems which will allow me to watch them solve problems and assess their understanding and thought processes. There is also a screen share feature which allows me to share my screen with students and show them features in Connexus they may not be familiar such as additional resources for help or tracking their progress.

The third tool is the drop box feature that I used when creating my portfolio. This is a nice feature which allows students to upload different file types for their teachers to view. For this portfolio students will most likely use Microsoft Word (or a similar program) to type their reflection and upload to the drop box, which are accepted file types for the drop box feature.

Overall: Overall I think that Connexus and all the different features that are used for this portfolio will enhance students learning. When students see this assignment in their gradebook it will encourage them to contact me and meet with me since they will be receiving a grade for doing so. The design of the portfolio will motivate students to have a progress check-in with me which they otherwise may not have. Progress check-in’s are beneficial for students to receive help in their courses on the content they are learning and also to learn new strategies for success, and it is beneficial for me as well to get to know my students and how I can support them.