As a final project, my students compiled individual poetry books with the poems they wrote throughout the unit. They were guided by a rubric that we developed together based on examples of published poetry anthologies. Because the analytic rubric provided precise criteria, I decided to challenge the students to self- and peer-assess their products to promote personal responsibility for their learning. First, the students assessed their own poetry books while I modeled how to use the rubric as a scoring tool (A). This exercise prepared the students to work in pairs to discuss and evaluate their peers' work (B). Grades were determined based on the average of the two peer-assessments, although students had the option to reject this grade in favor of a teacher assessment. Only a few students were dissatisfied with their peer evaluation (C), confirming my assertion that this group of sixth graders has the social maturity necessary for this activity. Although this process produced the final grade for their work, authentic assessment occurred when we opened our classroom doors to family and friends for a Poetry Sharing Day (D).
This is an example of formal assessment. I created this test and administered it to a group of tenth grade biology students after they completed a unit on the fossil record.
I used peer assessment for this homework in response
to my observation that students were turning in work and tests that were often
imprecise, incomplete, and even ineligible. After we discussed what an
acceptable answer could be for each question, students had to correct their
peers' homework. I collected the assessments and graded the completeness and
accuracy of the assessor's comments. The assessments suggest that after doing
this activity, students had a much better understanding of the material and
they recognized the importance of preciseness and clarity in their answers.
Formal
Assessment – Running Records and Recommendation
Ongoing assessments provide essential information to
me as a classroom teacher about my students' development. Running records are
essential tools in reading instruction at the primary level. This tool provides
vital information in regard to a student's specific decoding skills and
strategic reading behaviors. I conducted two running records of students at two
different reading levels (a). I was able to collect important data on these
specific students that I could act on when reading with them again, and make
definite recommendations to my mentor to aid future instruction (b). This type
of assessment fosters the opportunity to adapt instruction to my learners'
needs, and creates a professional predisposition to frequent and productive
evaluation.